Essence of Chaos (rewritten)
by Kyoto141092
Summary: Naruto never wanted to be hated, never wanted the responsibility that all Jinchuriki have. But what happens when something occurs to make it slightly more bearable... and when he discovers a latent power that will give him even more responsibility? / Naruto-small harem (redheads mostly) Friendly fem/kurama fem/Garra OP Naruto later on / Lemons later as well!
1. Prologue

**(Updated: 6/23/18)**

 **Welcome one and all to Essence of Chaos! This is an update of this chapter and all following chapters up to chapter 5 will be updated versions. I've removed the prior author's note in favor of a brief shorted exposition on some topics that I generally find are important to fanfiction readers.**

 **First of all this story was originally intended to be an "all redheads" fic as a way to satiate my desire for a NarutoXmultipe redheads Fanfic. (e.g. The Harem will consist almost entirely of redhead girls from Naruto with only two spots open for others)**

 **The second important thing about this story is that it will be a "nice Sasuke" fic. As in the Uchiha will not be the royal prick he usually is. He won't be goody-two-shoes, but he won't turn into a psychotic madman hell bent on revenge either.**

 **On the topic of assholes who will be nice in this story… Kurama will also be OOC, but still brutal and barbaric at times.**

 **Disclaimer (I don't own any part of Naruto.)**

 _ **Prologue**_

Kakashi Hatake was late… very very late. Under normal circumstances he would only be about a half an hour behind schedule, but today he was irritated. And to anyone who knew the lazy bones Jonin… that wasn't easy to do. Annoyed sure. Who wasn't irritated on occasion? Yet for the usually level headed Hatake to actually be perturbed about something? That was a fairly rare occurrence.

But it was one that to be expected. Why? Because he had opened his carefully concealed mouth at just the wrong time.

Worst of luck for him.

It had started that morning with the usual routine. Wake up… read for an hour. Eat… read some more. Get dressed and head out to Hokage's tower for any missions… (reading all the while). But that was where his pleasant morning had taken a noticeable turn for the worse. When he'd arrived at the Hiruzen's spacious office it was in a state of uproar.

The Hokage, who was usually a kind and grandfatherly figure, was in a full tilt shouting match with Saya Haruno, arguably the most annoying woman in all of Konoha. (if not the entirety of the Land of Fire) Their voices were angry and belligerent and by the diminutive… almost skittish demeanor of the AMBU… the two had been at it for a while. A part of him actually felt sorry for them.

Kakashi landed and managed to reign in the urge to release his self admitted annoying catchphrase. And boy… was he lucky he did.

"YOU OLD CRIPPLE! HOW DARE YOU PUT MY DAUGHTER ON THE SAME TEAM AS THAT HATEFUL THING! I WILL NOT ALLOW HER TO BE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF!"

Hiruzen shouted back, "YOU WILL REFRAIN FROM CALLING THE BOY THAT! HE IS NO ANIMAL AND WILL BE TREATED AS A NORMAL BOY! HIS NAME IS NARUTO UZUMAKI AND IF YOU CALL HIM A THING OR A DEMON ONE MORE KAMI DAMNED TIME I SWEAR YOUR _PRECIOUS_ DAUGHTER WILL BE SENT TO LIVE WITH HIM!"

Kakashi looked on in growing fear… not for his own safety, but for the AMBU who seemed to be wilting under the Hokage's anger. However… thankfully, Saya's mouth snapped shut like a steel trap. Her wide angry eyes (not at all attractive in Kakashi's opinion) were drilling holes in Hiruzen.

The old man relaxed back into his chair with a sigh, his gaze falling coldly on the village council member before him. "Sakura was in the exact middle of the class, Sasuke at the top, and Naruto at the bottom. Their talents balance out and more importantly all three require specialized attention. I did not put her on the same team as Naruto on purpose… I assure you. If I had known you would complain so loudly I might just have given her to one of the other teams."

"THEN DO IT!"

"I will do no such thing. The places are set and there is nothing you can do or say about it to change my mind or the outcome of the situation. Sakura Haruno is officially part of team 7."

There was a pause and Kakashi decided it would be the perfect time to drop in on the conversation….

How wrong he had been….

So now he was walking towards the Academy where he would meet the rest of his team. He grumbled, still greatly agitated. _"They just had to see me with my Icha-Icha, didn't they? This sucks the big one. All the reading I could have gotten in while they were training… gone."_

That was his punishment for being there at the wrong time. Saya had at last agreed to let her daughter stay on his team but the moment she saw the little orange book... Well, you could probably guess what happened. She declared that he was not to read "porn" in front of the girl. And Hiruzen… either out of desperation, maliciousness, or some other hidden sadistic tendency… had agreed with her. It didn't even make sense! The Hokage was the one who bought him the last book when it came out as congratulations for completing his first S-rank mission alone!

In effect he was banned from reading Icha-Icha while with his team. And THAT was not acceptable. Not even a teeny tiny little itty bitty bit. It was so far up on his un-cool list, he might have to make a new one. _"Out of all the things you could have banned… why?"_

A short time later Kakashi fixed a smile in his one visible eye, much as he would have done if he held a monocle there and walked into the academy. He immediately turned right and into one of the classrooms. The door opened and…. Nothing. He blinked in momentary surprise. He'd been expecting a greeting from his new students. Instead he received, possibly the coldest reception he'd ever had the displeasure of getting from a Genin.

Sasuke Uchiha, dark and silent as the rumors said he was, didn't even bother looking at him. His dark eyes were focused on the black board at the front of the class. Kakashi figured he was trying to train his killing intent… or something else stupid like that.

Sakura Haruno (He'd have to get back at her somehow) was staring at Sasuke with the upmost admiration.

 _"Great…. A fangirl. That's the last thing I need."_

Kakashi turned to the last member of the team. His smile faded. A small blond boy sat at one of the desks, chin resting on his crossed arms. He was either pissed off about something or he was mimicking the Uchiha. One or the other. He hoped it was the former. He wasn't sure if he could cope with to brooding preteens without his precious erotica.

A full minute passed as he took in the potentially awkward situation. Then he decided that some fresh air was _definitely_ part of the solution. "Yo… be on the roof in five minutes for introductions." Not even a glance apart from the pinket turning slightly from her dark avenger.

Kakashi grimaced and Shun-shined away.

He didn't have to wait long for his prospective students to arrive. Sasuke appeared first and walked over to sit down at one of two benches. Sakura followed like an obedient puppy, sitting down close to him. Kakashi waited for the blond to arrive. The boy was a long time in coming, but eventually Naruto walked into view and sat down.

Kakashi glanced at him… somewhat worried. This wasn't how the Hokage had described Naruto at all. He was supposed to be an overconfident bundle of energy with an unpredictable streak a mile wide. Not a downer with a glare and bags under his eyes. And keeping in kind who his parents were… this was defiantly out of character.

Kakashi mentally pinched himself before speaking. "Well…. In case you didn't know, I Kakashi Hatake, am your new sensei. Now why don't you three introduce yourselves?" Black hair and blond hair didn't even twitch. Pinky spoke up first, giving Kakashi some hope as to her prospects. Then his ears caught up with his head.

"Um… perhaps you could give us a demonstration sensei?"

Kakashi felt as though he'd been smacked. _"Seriously? She doesn't know how to introduce herself? Okay... This is going to be a long… long…day."_

"If I need to explain how to introduce yourself then I might as well send you back to the academy, because you obviously don't have enough common sense to be a ninja. Any more questions?" His voice was blunt like the side of a rock hammer and her eyes went wide. She blinked back in shock. It was then that Kakashi remembered she was Saya's daughter and almost certainly coddled. He would have to break his back just to get though that stubborn shell of incompetence. _"This isn't going well."_ He coughed. "-Ahem- Now… Sasuke. How about you introduce yourself then? I assume you know how."

Sasuke didn't move, but he did speak.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There's not a lot of things I like. Learning new jutsu is one of them… I dislike many things… I don't feel like telling you what my hobbies are. As for what I want to do… My goal is to kill a certain someone… _Slowly_."

As he finished Kakashi received a brief flash of clarity. _"I am going to hate my life for the next few months… I can see it now. Kakashi and squad 7, the most dysfunctional team in the history of the Hidden Leaf."_ This sudden vision disturbed him more than he was willing to admit to himself. He figured that it was time for the real tie breaker.

"So Naruto. Why don't you tell us about yourself?"

The blond's eyes rose to meet his. Kakashi experienced a chill. Naruto coughed once before speaking. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I like ramen and training… and sleeping. I dislike not being able to sleep for six days straight… and I also don't like bullies or people who are rude to me. I spend most of my time training. And… my goal is to become Hokage."

Naruto looked into the cyclopsian gaze of his new teacher. It was so… very hard not to be angry. He was exhausted… wiped. He couldn't muster the energy to smile at this point.

Kakashi, for his part, looked surprised, which for some reason pissed him off. It might have been because he was almost an hour late to the meeting. Or it could have been because the man looked like he'd had a good night's sleep. Something he hadn't had in a while. Or it might just have been that the guy reeked of dogs. Naruto made a mental note to prank the living hell out of him… as soon as he was feeling better.

The main problem with that was simple. He wasn't quite sure if he _would_ feel any better. Sleep… it seemed to have decided to put his name at the top of its black list. He wanted rest, but every time he closed his eyes and let darkness take him the nightmares started. After four sleepless nights he'd given up on resting at all. That was almost 64 hours without sleep so far. Even knowing that he was a Jinchuriki now… it was still far too long without some decent shut-eye.

Kakashi seemed to regain his composure and looked back to the group as a whole. He sounded slightly nervous. "Well, now then… I guess you three are what I have to work with. Anyway, all three of you still need to pass one last test before you're a part of squad 7."

"What!?" That was Sakura, looking worried. Sasuke muttered, "Figures…."

Naruto sighed tiredly and pinched himself to keep awake. Kakashi took in their responses. He decided to change from his usual schedule. "The test is to see if you're actually worth my time. It will take place at noon tomorrow at training field 7. And make sure you don't eat anything before hand or you'll throw up."

Sakura looked confused but nodded. Sasuke frowned. This all seemed just a bit abrupt, especially given how long it took him to show up. "Is that all? Or can we go now?"

Kakashi waved his hand easily. "You're free to go now my precious little _almost_ Genin."

Immediately Sasuke stood and left, quickly followed by Sakura. Kakashi glanced at Naruto as the blond slowly stood. His posture showed sheer exhaustion. That was a bit worrying… He knew the boy wasn't supposed to look like this. "Hey Naruto, wait a moment."

Naruto halted a second later, swiveling on one foot. "What is it sensei?"

"Are you alright? You look done in."

A moment passed and the boy nodded. "I'm fine. Just need to get some sleep."

"What was that comment during your introduction about? Have you really not slept for six days? If so I can stall the test. I seriously doubt anyone could pass my test when they're dead on their feet."

Naruto gave him a look. It dripped anger like the poisonous fangs of a serpent. Kakashi was gripped by a powerful urge to step back, but he was already at the edge of the roof. Naruto whispered something… half to himself and turned away, walking back into the academy and down the stairs.

The silver haired Jonin scratched his chin in deep thought. After a while he decided to speak with the old man about this… He felt as though something was wrong with Naruto. Something very wrong.

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

Later that day Naruto lay in bed. His eyes closed… unable to sleep, but unable to stay awake. He walked the thin boundary between one world and the next.

He didn't dare cross over into the realm of dreams. Visions of fire and blood filled every moment, stealing any chance for rest. But with each passing moment he came closer to the edge. Closer to the land of darkness.

Naruto's eyes flickered once… then twice, and finally closed. His head lolled to the side as his body relaxed, complete exhaustion overtaking him.

 **Ooo**

 _ **-The next day-**_

 **Ooo**

Kakashi stood in front of three kids… who were in various states of weakness. Sasuke looked a bit tired, but otherwise normal. Sakura had large circles under her eyes like Naruto and her stomach would growl ominously ever few moments. Obviously she'd taken the bait and skipped breakfast.

Naruto on the other hand… looked like a zombie. His eyes were half closed and he was barely standing. Ever couple seconds he would twitch and his head would rise, his eyes focusing on him for a second before dropping again. Kakashi knew that he wouldn't be able to do much of anything in that state… Sasuke, who was watching the blond suspiciously, probably realized the same thing.

"I think we have a bit of a problem guys." Kakashi turned to Sasuke and Sakura. "I don't think our boy Naruto is feeling well. How about you two wait here and work on some kind of plan for the test. I should probably take Naruto to the hospital to see what's wrong."

Sakura nodded. "Um… I think I remember hearing him say something about being tired in class… Maybe he just needs a nap or something."

Kakashi had taken note of that already, but listed her comment as a bonus since she wasn't a completely lost cause when it came to observation. "You might be right. Naruto? Are you listening?" The blond didn't answer. He asked again but Naruto didn't even shift.

Sakura scowled. "Hey are you deaf? Answer Kakashi sensei!" She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder ready to shake him. Naruto reacted like a gunshot, his arm snaking around hers locking it out straight. Sakura cried out in pain as Naruto spun towards her, keeping her arm locked and bringing his hand to bear. Kakashi darted forward to intercept the strike. He grabbed his wrist and pulled the two of them apart.

"Naruto BAKA! What the hell?!"

"Naruto! What are you doing?!"

He didn't answer. Kakashi bent down and his lone eye widened.

Naruto was asleep.

His eyes were shut and his breathing steady. The dark circles under his eyes were much more pronounced than Sakura's and he felt… cold. _"Good Kami… He did that just from reflex?"_ _Kakashi didn't know what to make of that. Either the kid was holding back on his exam or something odd was up. Plus his talk with the Hokage hadn't yielded anything of interest. He was in the dark._

After a moment of consideration he turned to the other two Genin. "Sakura Sasuke. the test is cancelled for today. I'll send a message hound once I have this sorted out. Go ahead and train for now."

They nodded as Kakashi picked Naruto up and Shun-shined away.

He reappeared just seconds later in the Hokage's office. The instant he did his keen ears registered a conversation cutting off. He glanced around the room, searching for the aged Kage. Hiruzen was there standing by the window that overlooked the east side of the village. Beside him was his son Asuma.

The Hokage turned and saw Naruto in his arms, worry suddenly flashing across his wrinkled face. "Kakashi! What happened?!"

"Naruto collapsed before I could start the test. I think he's suffering from acute exhaustion but I can't see a good reason for it."

Asuma turned as well. "Has he been overtraining himself again? Choji and Shikamaru tell me he's a training nut surpassed only by Guy and Lee."

Kakashi shrugged. "I was stopping by to tell you before I take him to the hospital to get checked. At first I thought he was sick but those with his… condition… can't get sick."

"That is true…" Hiruzen admitted with a touch of unease apparent in his voice.

They paused as Naruto mumbled and twisted in Kakashi's grip. "Huh? Naruto?" He realized the boy was still out of it. He was mumbling in his sleep. Hiruzen stepped forward to examine him but stopped dead when the boy grumbled loudly.

"Shut up….stu..pid fox….."

Kakashi looked up at Hiruzen as the old man's eyes went wide. "No. Please tell me I didn't just hear that…"

 **Ooo**

Naruto groaned as he opened his eyes. Only to feel something wet drop on his face. He looked up and glimpsed a dark shadowed ceiling. Confused and still very tired he just lay there, wondering how he'd come to be laying here. A moment passed and another drop of liquid fell, plopping between his eyes.

He groaned again and forced himself to sit up. Something about the darkness around him told him that something was very… different, but he was just too exhausted. The knowledge refused to make any impression on him. So, deciding that there was nothing else for it, he rose to his feet. He was bit unsteady at first. However he regained his balance quickly as he looked down at himself... not really understanding why he wasn't wet from the water obscuring the floor.

Then his ears registered a sound.

At first he thought it was a large bee. Then he realized bees didn't live underground. A few seconds passed before it registered that he was listening to someone humming.

Naruto turned around. He was in a long dark corridor. The sound was echoing down the hall behind him. He felt a stab of curiosity and walked back down the watery path before him. It seemed to be made of a dull grey stone and there were three odd _things_ in the ceiling of the corridor. They seemed to be pipes but at the same time he didn't think they were. Yet all he could do was follow where they led.

He walked for a long time, turning occasionally with the bends in the tunnel. Water sloshed at his feet, ankle deep and luke warm. Time passed and humming became more distinct, becoming a voice. It was feminine. That much he was sure of. Other than that though… he still hadn't the faintest idea what was going on.

Naruto felt a tug in his chest as he at last saw a doorway… and the faded bar of light that showed through. Some of his exhaustion faded away and he moved swiftly towards it. A few steps later he reached out for the doorframe, sticking his head out to see what was inside.

Amazement caught him off guard and he stepped inside. It was a huge chamber, so massive that he couldn't see the ceiling. And through the center ran bars, each as wide as two men standing abreast. The cathedral sized room was grey and dank. But at the same time it was oddly comforting.

"Where… where am I…?"

 **"Your subconscious."**

Naruto's eyes flicked to the cage bars that split the room in half. His jaw dropped. Inside was a beautiful girl… she looked no older than seventeen, though her long crimson hair was longer than she was tall. It fanned out around her as she sat on the other side of the divide.

He looked her up and down. She was completely naked… which helped in the assumption that she was not human. Black marks like cursive script traced a circle around her stomach. Her pale skin was flawless besides that. Naruto caught her gaze and found dark red eyes the color of blood. Red slits that seemed inquisitive. And behind her drifted nine thick tails covered in dark orange fur.

Naruto blinked and stepped back… "Kyuubi…."

 **"I don't really like that name. Why don't you come closer and I'll tell you my real one?"**

Her voice was sweet and pleasant… rich and… commanding. It sent shivers down his spine and he felt a compulsion to move closer. "Shut up stupid fox… I know what you are. You're… the thing… the demon that destroyed my village."

She cocked her head and her… ears… long and dark orange turned downward. **"I did attack your home… but it wasn't my choice."**

Naruto wasn't sure exactly what happened all those years ago but he knew she couldn't be telling the truth. He shouted, "YOU LIE!"

 **"I don't… You should know better than most that not all is what it seems. The villagers call you demon when you are not. Is it such a stretch to think they are wrong about me as well?"** She crooked a finger… tipped with a small black claw. **"Come here boy. I want to talk to you face to face…"**

He stepped back even though his stomach wrenched in protest. "Why should I listen to you!? You're a monster!"

Her head dipped and her small shoulders slumped. **"Yes… I am. But that doesn't mean we cannot speak honestly. Please come closer."**

Naruto saw her hurt expression and almost gasped in pain. Red eyes rose to meet his and Naruto lost his battle with curiosity and longing. He wanted to move to her… and so he did. She smiled as he stopped at the bars to her prison. He sank to his knees, leaning against the cool metal. A moment later she stood and stepped closer. Naruto saw the orange blur of her tails as she sat down across from him. His eyes took in her features.

She was stunning… truly breathtaking… inhumanly so. Her red lips quirked a bit as she leaned forward, looking at him more closely. Despite her being what she was he couldn't prevent a blush from spreading across his cheeks. She was naked after all. Her breasts swayed slightly, drawing his eyes away from her face.

She giggled. **"So… this might be interesting. You're my first male container. Hm… What's your name young man?"**

"I…I'm Naruto… Uzumaki…"

 **"Oh?... So you are her son. I guess Kushina didn't survive."**

Naruto broke out of his trance and looked back into her eyes. "Y..you knew my mom?"

 **"She was my previous vessel. Though we rarely spoke. Actually… this form of mine…. is very similar to hers, although I took it from my first container. What you see is merely a form I choose to take. I have no true body."**

"What about my mom though!? And how did she get stuck with you!?"

The red headed demon shook her head. **"Naruto… I don't want to be trapped here anymore than in your mother. I am a prisoner within your mind with no power to escape. Don't make it seem like I want any of this."**

"Then why!?"

She pursed her lips and leaned back **. "Because of humans. We Biju… all of my kind are powerful and humans have sought this power for decades. I have lived within the minds of three separate generations. For your information your village hunted me down for it."**

"Is that why you attacked them….?"

 **"I was not myself at the time. A Shinobi was controlling my actions during the attack. I never would have tried to kill your parents… Your father and I spoke more often than Kushina ever did. I'm telling you…. I never intended to hurt the people of this the village or cause you any pain."**

Naruto looked down. He was at once excited that she knew his family and guarded that she might lie to him about them. Or worse that he would find out his parents weren't who he hoped they were like. "My parents. You knew both of them….?"

 **"Yes."**

He felt tears welling in his eyes and quickly dashed them. "What… what were they like?"

She smiled a bit. **"Kushina was a lot like me… sort of. She had a bad temper, but she was a kind woman. Over all she was a generous person. As for Minato-kun… He was always calm and collected. He rarely did or said anything without thinking about it before hand. He was also very kind… A bit too kind sometimes. Both of them were powerful… but you probably already know that."** She shifted, seeming a little uncomfortable. **"If you want to speak to someone who knew them well speak to Hiruzen Sarutobi… if he's still alive."**

Naruto's eyes went wide. "Jiji knew them!"

A confused look crossed her features. **"Why of course. He had to. All of the Hokage's predecessors knew each other well."**

"Hokage…? What do you mean? The Yondaime sealed you inside me. He's the only other Kage who was alive at the same time as the Sandaime."

The Kyuubi blinked, still seeming a bit cofused. **"Yes… your father… the Yondaime Hokage. You did know that… right?"** Her pupils contracted. **"No… No you didn't know."**

Naruto was frozen. He felt like he'd been paralyzed. Shock, fear, amazement, and anger mixed in his mind. It seemed like an hour passed as he sat there… stunned by her words. He couldn't believe it. His father had been the Hokage? It was like someone had just told him that he was the host for the Kyuubi….

He let out a pained bark of laughter. _"Oh wait... I was already told that…"_ Naruto swallowed hard and stared up at her. "So.. you really are the Kyuubi?"

She crossed her arms over her generous bust **. "My name is Kurama. Please address me by that. I dislike being branded with that term."**

"Kurama… And you didn't attack the village because you wanted? Someone was making you do it?"

She nodded. **"It was the day you were born… I suspect that someone powerful was taking advantage of your parents. You see there are only a few times at which both male and female Jinchuriki are weakened. For females it is compounded though. When you mother was giving birth, the pain of it weakened the seal to the point that it almost released me."** Kurama looked sorrowful. **"Something happened…. I was released. The last thing I remember was coming out of a great rage and being forced into you."**

"So why!? Why am I here?!... Why… can't I get any sleep? All the nightmares I've been having…"

She scooted as close to him as she could without touching the cage bars. Her eyes had taken on a more urgent cast. **"I'm sorry, but that was my fault in all likelihood. I have been desperate for contact of late. I felt something happening outside, but not being able to see anything for years is… frightening. Minato sealed me tighter than I have ever been sealed before. I couldn't even hear your thoughts until a few years ago…"** Kurama gestured to him with one delicate hand. **"I felt the seal weaken a little less than a week ago… at least that's how long ago I think it happened… I still can't read your memories so I have no hint as to what happened… However I tried my best to weaken the seal more."**

"Why? Isn't that a bad thing?"

 **"I felt the need to speak you. It's been twelve years since I spoke to anyone. Can you imagine how lonely I was?"**

Naruto looked back at her. He felt like crying… but he couldn't. He gathered his voice and croaked out, "Yes… The village hates me. I get beaten and no one will talk to me. The stores refuse to sell me anything but trash… Even Jiji can't help me all the time. He's too busy." He choked but forced himself to continue. "A few days ago my sensei almost died trying to save me from someone who tried to kill me…"

 **"Naruto… come here…."** Kurama held out her arm and Naruto threw himself forward. She hugged him tightly, leaning her head on his as she dragged her fingers through his hair. **"Don't worry. I'll protect you from now on. Kushina and Minato were kinder to me than any humans ever have… You will be my little kit… Naruto-kun… please sleep soundly…"**

She smiled as she felt him relax in her arms. She pulled him fully into her side of the seal and laid back against the bars with him lying in her lap. Kurama's eyes were drawn to the chamber around them. The gloom lifted slightly causing her to twitch her ears. She looked down to the boy. He reminded her of a very young Kushina a bit… if very sad. _**"I'll be there for you… I won't let the village hurt you for my actions Naruto…. My Naruto…."**_

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

Hiruzen and Kakashi let out a collective sigh as Naruto's writhing body relaxed suddenly. Kakashi had taken him to the hospital even as he began convulsing. He didn't stop either. After a few minutes they were forced to strap him down. The Sandaime ordered him to be given something to calm him down….

The injection didn't work.

Almost an hour later he was sleeping soundly. They watched now, thankful that he seemed to be resting finally. "I'll leave off the test until further notice. When we're sure he's recovered I'll do it then." Kakashi smoothed his fingers through his hair, his one uncovered eye red with worry.

Hiruzen nodded in agreement. "Good… but I want at trusted member if the Yamanaka clan to look through his mind to find if he is unstable. We can't take any chances on the Kyuubi getting loose."

"I understand that. Would you like me to get Inoichi?"

The old man nodded. "I suppose he would be best at it. Yes. Bring him here as soon as you can."

Not ten minutes later Inoichi stood over the bed looking concerned as the rest of them. He was the current head of the Yamanaka clan, a man of average height with prominent cheekbones and platinum blond hair tied in a ponytail. His pale blue eyes slid over Naruto's unconscious form for several seconds before he formed a chain of handseals. Then kneeling by the side of the bed he muttered, " _Mind Walking technique."_

He closed his eyes in preparation to leave his body….

Inoichi's eyes snapped open as pain exploded behind his eyes. He deactivated the jutsu a second before the excruciating pain could knock him out. Gasping he stood and stumbled back from the bed.

"What happened?!" Hiruzen asked sharply.

"I… I don't know. I activated the jutsu… but before I even entered his mind something managed to stop me dead. It left me stranded for a moment. Not a pleasant experience."

Kakashi had paled slightly and taken a step forward. "How is that possible? Naruto hasn't received any training to resist Yamanaka mind techniques. And besides that he's barely a Genin. You're a Jonin and head of your clan. How is it that he blocked you?"

Inoichi shook his head. "I have no way of knowing. You're right. It shouldn't be possible, but he does have the Kyuubi _and_ he is aware of it now. I hazard a guess that the beast might have something to do with it, but truly there is no method for extracting the knowledge without hurting him. As you know.. I'm more of an offensive infiltrator when it comes to my clan's jutsu. My wife has more skill with the gentle side of the branch."

As they spoke Naruto shifted a little, his breath coming out easily. Hiruzen grimaced. "I will return to my duties. Please contact me if there is any change, but for now leave him be."

They nodded before scattering to their various tasks and jobs, leaving Naruto to rest.

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

Much later Naruto opened his eyes again and yawned, stretching his arms out. He looked around himself but for the life of him he couldn't remember how he'd gotten here. Wherever "here" was. He didn't recognize the grey walls or the huge metal bars to his right.

It didn't take long for a teasing voice to speak from just behind his head. **"You're a brave little boy… Falling asleep on the most powerful demon in existence like that. Either you have great trust in me or you lack a sense of self preservation."**

Naruto jerked forward and turned around to see… her. She was smirking at him. Naruto colored as he glanced down…. only for his eye to snap back to her eyes in embarrassment. "Sorry… Kyu…. I mean Kurama."

 **"No matter Naruto-kun. Just remember that I'm not human. This body… for all its beauty is just a copy. There really isn't any reason to be embarrassed."**

"I know.. it's just you're naked ya know…" He trailed off trying not to meet her gaze or stare at any of her assets. Even for a boy as young as him it wasn't easy.

Kurama just smiled. **"You remind me of Minato-kun. He was always too awkward when he visited me too albeit… for different reasons."**

Naruto perked up. "So you really met my dad?"

 **"I told you that already didn't I? Yes. Minato used to come and talk to me often enough, although what we discussed wasn't what you would call… personal. We talked easily enough. He was usually more curious about my abilities than anything else."**

He crossed his legs and asked, "What do you mean by that? You're not human… so can you use jutsu?"

She raised an eyebrow. **"Why yes. That's part of the reason why I choose this form over others. However it takes some time to revert to this form outside. In reality I have only taken a human form once."**

"So why was my dad so interested in what you could do? Is there like some whole bunch of demon jutsu or something?!"

Kurama shifted, wrapping her tails around herself in an effort to make the boy more comfortable. **"I have many abilities… nine in particular. All of them are passive to a certain degree. And many of them are shared with my sisters and brothers. In addition to that I can use most of the human jutsu you have learned about."**

Naruto was wide eyed. "But you have like… never ending chakra right? So you could beat anyone if you were using jutsu…."

She smirked. **"You certainly are interested all of a sudden… Why are you so eager to learn jutsu?"**

Naruto looked fierce for a moment. "So I can become strong and prove to everyone in the village that I'm not useless. That I can be a hero! I'll become Hokage and everyone will have to respect me!"

Kurama sighed, a note of sorrow in her voice. **"Naruto…. That isn't how it works. The people must respect you first… before you can become Hokage. The Hokage isn't simply a powerful warrior. He is also the guardian of his people and the leader of the village. If you want the respect of the village… you will have to become something so great as to outweigh the hate they have for you."**

 **"Is that something you're willing to do?"** She asked curiously.

"Of course!"

 **"Well then… would you like my help? I can give you strength… though there will be a cost."**

He looked hesitant for a moment. Then he nodded. "I want your help Kurama."

 **"How silly of you. You don't even ask what the cost will be. Never make that mistake elsewhere Naruto. You can't know if someone will take advantage of you."**

"Oh…. I guess you could tell me…. But I need all the help I can get right!?"

She sighed inwardly. **"As you wish… now come here Naruto. You are the manifestation of your conscious mind… I need contact with you in order to use my powers."** He paused before moving forward and letting her wrap her arms around him. **"This will feel…. Odd. Try to relax."**

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

Naruto jerked awake in a white hospital bed… in a plain white room. He looked around, his eyes taking in his surroundings. He sighed inwardly. At least there wasn't anyone else in the room. A loud bang to his left caused him to jump. His eyes flicked to the door leading out. _"What was that?!"_

 _ **"Calm down. It's part of the changes I made. You can't expect to have me alter you without making your senses keener. You humans are so oblivious most of the time."**_

 _"Hey!"_ _Naruto muttered indignantly._

 _ **"Hey yourself. For now all I did was heighten the strength of your vision and hearing. Once you get used to that I'll work on your sense of smell… then touch and taste. Keep in mind the senses build upon each other so each alteration will feel just as sudden and strange as the last."**_

 _"What about…?"_

 _ **"Oh. Right. I have stopped restricting the flow of my chakra to a certain degree…. However this isn't a complete blessing. Remember that you have poor control already. You have the same amount of chakra as a strong Jonin at the moment… not counting my own chakra."**_

 _"I know you told me that… but what does that have to do with using jutsu again?"_

A sigh came from the back of his mind. _**"As I said…. The more chakra you have, the harder it becomes to control. Most Shinobi have a pitiful amount of chakra… which is part of the reason why there is such a high demand for Uzumaki and similar clans. Clans such as yours are infamous for their dense chakra."**_ She snorted at something before saying, _**"I recall Minato once saying that only two clans in existence have the ability to reliably contain me. The Uzumaki and Kaguya. Although even during the time of the First Hokage… that clan was dwindling."**_

 _"Why would such a strong clan be getting smaller though? Wouldn't they be powerful enough to protect themselves?"_

 _ **"Not all Shinobi prize peace. The Kaguya clan was well known for its bloodlust. Few could match it. Eventually they made so many enemies that they were overwhelmed."**_

 _"That's…. sad."_ _Naruto frowned and scratched his cheeks, which were itching a bit. The feeling was odd but surprisingly pleasant._

 _Kurama's voice seemed to lower in slight disappointment._ _ **"It is I suppose… Now do me a favor and do a self inventory. I want to see how my other tinkering went."**_

 _"Self what?"_

 _ **"Just look at yourself."**_

Naruto was puzzled by her insistence and lifted his hands to examine them. His eyes bugged out. The tips of his finger had changed. Instead of the thin nail… there was a tiny claw. About half an inch long… and sharp. They were white as bone. He was quite unable to keep his shock from coming out louder than he intended. _"WHAT!?"_

 _ **"Shush… get out of bed and find a mirror. And try not to scream before I teach you how to hide your appearance."**_

He swung his feet out of bed and heard a few soft clicks. Looking down he saw his feet bore claws as well. With a rising panic Naruto searched for a mirror but found none in the immediate area. Instead he opened the door to the bathroom and looked there. Immediately he caught his reflection in the mirror. He froze.

At thirteen years old he still had much of the baby fat of a child… lending his face a round shape. His tanned skin showed the amount of time he spent outside training. The three whisker marks were still there… though they looked slightly darker… and thicker. What truly caught his eye were his eyes. The blue remained but the pupils were just like Kurama's. As he leaned forward he noticed fangs sticking out of his open mouth. He smiled into the mirror. His canines were long and sharp, pearly white… and a bit scary. Naruto thought absently, _"Could have made my eyes red ya know… that would have been cooler…. Or orange."_

 _ **"Orange…. Really?"**_

 _"Yeah! Orange, my favorite color, believe it!"_

She sighed. _**"I can make them red, but it's just another thing you will have to hide."**_ _Inwardly the fox was pleased though. She didn't expect him to accept the changes she'd made so readily. The claws were valuable as they would make his Taijutsu more deadly. The newly heightened senses would be priceless as a Shinobi and that was perhaps the easiest thing to improve at the moment. If only she could give him her sensory abilities, but that would require years to accomplish._ _ **"Your village isn't likely to find them appealing as you."**_

Naruto nodded. _"Okay… well?!"_

 _ **"Don't be so impatient kit."**_

He waited, anticipating the change, not blinking. Then slowly… his eyes darkened, turning black for a moment before brightening to an arterial red. He grinned. _"Now my eyes are just like yours!"_

 _ **"Was that what you wanted?... I'm flattered."**_

He could almost hear her smiling at that. His ears dropped. _"Guess I can't ask for a tail huh…. I'm not sure I could hide that from anyone."_

Kurama apparently thought the same because she suggested. **_"Let's see if you can pull of an advanced transformation before we go giving you extra appendages. By the way… you should take a look at your ears…. I… couldn't help myself on that score."_**

 _"Huh?"_

Naruto tilted his head down and realized that his human ears were gone. "Holy!? Are these real?"

 _ **"Of course. And they're more effective on top of your head than on the sides. They can swivel… unlike human ears which don't move at all. And much cuter…."**_

He nodded and searched for anything else that was abnormal. Nothing struck him as unusual now. Naruto turned away from the mirror and walked back into the main room. He was still dressed in his regular outfit… thankfully, but he didn't know if he was supposed to wait for anyone to check up on him.

 _ **"It's good that no one is there. Let me show you how to do a long lasting transformation before some poor nurse dies of shock."**_

 _"I wouldn't…."_

 _ **"Think about it. The demon child walks out of a room with red eyes, fox ears, claws and fangs. If someone didn't try to kill you, I'd be shocked. From what you showed me of your memories… you must be careful. I can supply you with enough chakra that NO ONE will be able to dispel the illusion, but many high ranking Shinobi will still be aware that it is there. So… be cautious."**_

 _"Okay… okay. I will, but I can't keep it going all the time right?"_

She went silent for a moment. _**"When you sleep I have more power to affect you… I will do my best to funnel enough chakra to keep it going even while you sleep. Otherwise… it would be an excellent idea to put your mind to work, thinking up a new jutsu for just that purpose."**_

Naruto nodded and waited as a series of images and feelings ran through his mind, detailing how to perform the jutsu. It took a while for him to get it right and cover all the areas, but soon enough… Naruto stood as normal as never. He grinned at his success just as his ears registered the door opening. He looked to the side as the door halted and Hiruzen walked in. Naruto's face split into a grin as he ran to hug the old man. Hiruzen embraced his warmly, chuckling at the strength. Then he heard a few ribs crack ominously before Naruto finally let go.

He grunted and straightened. "I'm -crack- glad you're feeling better Naruto. Tell me… what happened?"

"I was having nightmares and I didn't sleep for a long time but I'm all better now that K…."

 _ **"NARUTO!"**_

He hesitated and… realized he'd almost gone right ahead and told the old man about Kurama. He grinned and scratched the back of his head, "Hehehe… um… anyway, I'm much better now… How long was I out?"

Hiruzen's eyes flickered for the briefest moment with suspicion. Then he smiled. "No more than a day and a night. I'm honestly surprised you recovered so quickly. Kakashi told me you fainted from exhaustion but I suppose you're tougher than most…" He bent down. "But if these nightmares start again you can come to me alright. I'll always be around when you need someone to talk to."

"Okay…"

He sighed and groaned faintly. "Now... I believe you might do well for some ramen. How about I take a break from my paperwork and have lunch with you?"

Naruto blinked in amazement. "REALLY!?" That was the first time the old man had ever offered to go along with him. The first time he might be able to walk down the street without anyone cursing him. With gramps there he couldn't do wrong!

Kurama's voice came through warningly. _**"Naruto-kun. Remember that his duty is to the village first, not to you. Don't tell him about me. He wouldn't believe you and even if he did, he wouldn't trust me. He didn't know of my relationship with your parents."**_

 _"Don't worry I won't!"_

 **Ooo**

Ayame heard the flap to the ramen stand pulled aside but didn't bother turning around. It was probably Naruto… well, it was almost always Naruto. The boy almost single handedly made up half of their profit. And considering that he didn't have any real income… that was a feat in and of its self. But maybe she should have taken him to the market one of these days. Ramen every single day couldn't be healthy.

She smiled as she heard the usual call. "Ayame-chan! One Miso Ramen please!" Turning around she nodded… and stopped dead. Two dark eyes hovered over an amused smile. Her lips moved but it was a few seconds before any sound came out. "…L.. Lord Hokage!?"

Hiruzen chuckled. "Well… it's good to hear that at least some of the new generation know my title…. Eh Naruto?" He nudged the boy with an elbow, managing to make him grin sheepishly.

"Yeah well… I'd rather call you by your name than just calling you Hokage, but your name is kinda…"

The old man raised an eyebrow in mock anger. "And exactly what is my name if I may be so bold as to ask?"

"Um…." Naruto glanced away. "…old…"

Ayame looked horrified until Hiruzen laughed. "I guess you're back to your old self already." He turned his gaze on the young cook. "That'll be one Beef Ramen for me." The old Kage patted Naruto on his messy blond head. "Come now, take a seat Naruto-kun."

The young ramen chef just nodded dumbly as the two of them took their stools. "Coming right up."

A while and a great many bowls of ramen later Hiruzen waved slowly to Naruto as the blond sped off through the village. His smile waivered then fell, his eyes turning serious. Something was off about the boy. He could feel the wrongness that made him seem unclean. The Sandaime turned and walked back to the tower, thinking on what he had seen. _"An illusion… I'm quite sure of it, but Naruto couldn't possibly have made it. Even though his grades at the academy were sabotaged by Mizuki.. he still has no talent in Genjutsu thanks to his Jinchuriki status… So how does he come to have such a powerful one clinging to him?"_

Sarutobi was concerned to say the least. Such a powerful illusion should have been obvious to all but a few dim civilians. The sheer amount of chakra that was being used to sustain it meant that it couldn't easily be dispelled. And despite that he'd only noticed it when he'd nudged Naruto. The entire walk to the ramen stand and their talk in the hospital… he hadn't noticed it at all.

And that was what truly concerned him. His thoughts grew ever darker as his mind worked double-time to unravel the mystery. _"I must be getting old… Maybe I'll get Danzo to send one of his ROOT members to keep a close eye on him. At least I know Danzo's methods and his forces are terrifyingly loyal…"_

The old man sighed as he walked, wondering if life was getting more complicated or if he was just becoming too slow to keep up.

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

Naruto was almost to his apartment when he changed course. His excitement after his talk with the old man needed release. And the easiest way to achieve that was through training. His feet took him away from his home and back towards training field 44. He'd found it months ago and it was his favorite hangout. The dark forest was filled with all manner of huge animals and beasts.

Which was why it was so perfect. He hadn't seen a single person besides himself there in all the times he'd gone to train. He suspected it was because of the animals and the eerie feel of the place. Well… he didn't know about eerie. It was just a forest. No ghosts lived there or anything like that. And all the animals tended to avoid him. He'd only been attacked once and as far as he was concerned giant spiders were no problem.

Naruto looked around, making sure no one was watching before he sprinted forward and leaped the metal fence which bordered the forest's edge. Inside it was dark and shadowed, with only small patches of light showing through. But it was as close to home as he could get outside his cramped apartment.

He sped through till he found his personal training area. It was a large clearing he'd cleared of grass. It tended to be damp here and he didn't like slipping all over the place. Three massive trees bordered the clearing each as wide as a house. On one of them he'd scraped off a good deal of bark and wood, leaving a smooth surface. He'd carved his training regimen and what his physical limits were into the wood so he didn't have to keep track in his head.

Naruto ran over and pulled out his kunai, scratching another day into the worn surface. Then he sat down with his back to the tree and closed his eyes. He tried to reach out with his mind but nothing happened. _"Well that didn't work… um how do I get there?"_

Kurama asked curiously. _**"What are you trying to do?"**_

 _"Oi! Kurama! I was trying to get to where I could talk to you again but I didn't know how."_

She was pensive for a moment. _**"There is a special kind f meditation that you humans invented which allows you to fall inside your subconscious. For those of great mental fortitude it gives them a place where they can think and train for years without spending a single day in the outside world."**_

 _"COOL!"_

 _ **"However for Jinchuriki it works differently. Instead of taking you to the core of yourself, it brings you to where your mind and the mind of the best connect. For us it is the seal. That is where you saw me. A room that touches both of our minds and binds us together."**_

Naruto thought, _"So how do I get to see you again?"_

 _ **"Do you really want to see me…? Or do you merely wish to ask me something?"**_

 _"Well…um… both."_

 _ **"Very well. However you don't yet have the skill or patience to come to me on your own. But I can bring you here of my own accord."**_

Naruto was about to answer her when he felt himself falling… fast. A second later he was sitting on warm stone. He looked around. "Huh? How did I?"

 **"Welcome back Naruto… Now what did you wish to ask?"** Kurama's tone was curious and playful. **"I assume there is something important you wanted if you had to talk to me face to face."**

Naruto turned around and saw Kurama lounging against one of the cage bars again. Her attire had changed. Instead of her being stark naked like before she wore a long white Kimono with blood red trim. He scratched his head nervously. "Actually.. I uh, wanted to see you. I mean what I wanted to ask and seeing you was to different things!"

She quirked one eyebrow. **"So you wanted to see me just to see me… but you also have a question… Very well. What is it you want to know?"**

He paused for a moment. "It was just that… I was thinking when I was sitting with Jiji that.." He trailed off.

 **"That what?"**

"That I'm a Genin, but only barely. I mean you said I had a lot of chakra and Kage Bunshin take a lot of chakra. I thought that the only reason I beat Mizuki was because of that… I.. don't know if I'm ready to be a Genin…"

Kurama smiled. **"Well to be perfectly honest Kushina could have handed your head to you on a silver platter even at ten years old. Thirty years ago, training for Konoha Shinobi was much more intensive. Despite your talent with clones, the fact that you were held back by your mentors means you still aren't as strong as you should be."** Her ears dropped a bit. **"Again it's my fault that I didn't find a way to speak to you sooner."**

Naruto noticed her saddened look and frowned. "Is there any way you can make me stronger!? I don't want to be dead weight with the team. I know Sasuke is an ass and all but he's really good with Taijutsu and Ninjutsu. And Sakura has great chakra control. I just have a lot of power… but I can't use it very well…"

 **"I can…."**

"Great! So you can tr…."

 **"But everything has a cost Naruto. I can give you incredible hearing… but human ears aren't designed for it. That is why fox ears were needed. I can give you an excellent sense of smell, but because you have a human nose I have to rework how your senses are perceived by your brain and how the chakra flows through you."**

"Yeah.. but.."

She sighed, **"You must understand that I have chakra control that far surpasses any of the Kage, however changing your body is extremely difficult. A change in eye color is simple and quick because it does not change** _ **how**_ **you see, ears not so much, and giving you a keen sense of smell is even harder. Actively changing you chakra network….."**

He pouted. "So you can't make me stronger…"

 **"Don't give me those eyes kit. I can do anything! However… the seal severely limits how much chakra I can use. Meaning that the less chakra I have circulating through your body… the longer it will take to change anything."**

"So how can you….?"

 **"In order to drastically affect any part of you, I need more of my chakra running through the area than you. My chakra, despite being a part of you since birth, is still my chakra and it doesn't mix well with yours. It is the same problem that users of medical Ninjutsu have. The body will always try to reject foreign chakra even if it is helping."**

Naruto sat back, thinking it over. _"So she can make me stronger but it just takes a long time? Or what about elements? Sasuke can do "Fire Ball jutsu" but I can't use anything like that…"_ "Kurama… can you give me control over elements and stuff? Like how Sasuke can use fire when the other kids in class can't."

She smiled. **"I can do that. As I already said, I can use most of the jutsu you humans can, excluding some lightning, Water, and all of Earth style."**

"Um… is sounds like you can only do like half."

Kurama scowled. **"Silence kit. I am greatly diminished from my full power. An entire half of my chakra is gone. You try doing jutsu after someone cuts you in half."**

"What do you mean by missing half of your power?"

 **"Simply this… the Yondaime thought I had gone insane. He wasn't about to seal me in my entirety into his son. It would have been a death sentence for you. Instead he sealed the Yang half of his chakra into you. And sealed the Yin half into himself moments before his death. You see Naruto… a Shinobi's elemental affinity is often limited to the balance of their Yin and Yang chakra, which is in turn often hereditary."**

She brought her hand forward and the floor between them began to change, a diagram appearing before them. **"Yin chakra is every bit as important and strong as Yang chakra. However… Because I am made up exclusively of Yang chakra, certain elements are drastically more difficult for me. Earth style is the domain of the Yin chakra. Those ninja who had overwhelmingly more Yin chakra than Yang often become powerful Earth users."** Naruto leaned forward as the diagram moved with her words, forming a pentagram with the five elements arranged according to their association with either of the chakra types. **"Each type of chakra had a primary focus and two secondary focuses. For instance… Yang chakra's primary elemental focus is Wind, followed by Lightning and fire. While Yin chakra's primary focus is Earth, followed by Water and Fire."**

"Ah! That means I would be great with wind right!? Because you're all Yang chakra and our chakra is connected so I'd have way more Yang chakra than anything else!"

She smirked. **"Right you are. Because of your massive imbalance in Yang chakra you would have an equal affinity for Wind Release…. although it isn't guaranteed."**

"What do you mean by that? I mean I have to have wind with all of that right?"

 **"Your elemental affinity isn't entirely dependent on the balance of Yin and Yang chakra. Your blood decides your Elemental affinity. For example… I believe your father's main affinity was either wind or lightning… with his secondary affinity being the other. As for Kushina, I believe she had a minor affinity for Fire and a massive one for Water. Although… she always kept me under such a tight watch…"**

She sighed once more and continued. **"Now if you inherited Kushina's elemental affinity that means you will have a massive affinity for fire…. The likes of which hasn't been seen in decades if not centuries… but if you gained Minato's, it could be the same either way. As both Wind and Lightning are strong on the Yang side of the spectrum."**

Naruto sat there for a moment thinking. "So that probably means I'll be real bad at Earth Release…"

 **"Unfortunately… yes. Very much so. It won't be impossible for you to learn it, but it certainly wouldn't be easy. And Water Release won't be easy either. But you're lucky either way. Most Shinobi only have an average affinity for one element. You have a good chance for a strong affinity in two."**

"So?! Can you train me in them… or I mean, find out what they are first and then train me?" He was bursting at the thought of having personal training sessions with the Kyuubi. It would be beyond anything he could have hoped for. Forget Kakashi. He was being taught by Kurama, like being trained by one of the Kage but all the time and better!

She leaned forward and caught his hand, dragging him into her lap. Naruto didn't resist, but shifted to get comfortable. Kurama giggled a bit as he accidently grabbed one of her tails. **"Now now.. I'll try to determine your affinity. It shouldn't take very long. Just close your eyes for me Naruto."**

He did so and waited. Kurama's body was very warm as if she radiated heat. It was almost tempting to doze off, but he still wanted to train.

Unbeknownst to him, Kurama's face had twisted into a frown of concentration. _**"For some reason, I'm finding it rather difficult to find his affinity… Perhaps my vision is too focused. I'm just looking for three elements… It's entirely possible he has a talent for Water Release only. I've seen stranger things…"**_

A few minutes passed and Naruto was starting to wonder if she was going to stop stoking his hair. As much as he enjoyed the attention, it was a bit distracting. He almost jumped out of her lap as she let out a clear laugh, like a chorus of bells. **"Ah… my kit. How lucky we are to be you. It seems you are rather special…if I do say so myself."**

He twisted around to look her in the face. She was grinning broadly. "What do I have?"

 **"Three things… one of which I didn't expect… and a second which amazes even me. You have three affinities… that in and of its self is special. I'd say only five percent of Shinobi are born with three… However that isn't what makes it special."**

"Well! Are you going to tell me? Come on Kurama!"

 **"Settle down young one. I'll save the best for last. First let me tell you that you have a slightly above average affinity for Water, obviously from your mother. However….you also have what Shinobi call a blood line."**

"What's that?!" Blood line sounded really cool and powerful… He thought it sounded a bit familiar too, like Iruka had mentioned it in class when he was half asleep.

 **"It is usually passed down from generation to generation. And if the parent has a bloodline trait, the child will almost always have the same. However the reason it took me so long is that I've never actually met someone with this one."** She eyed him mischievously. **"You have matching affinities… as in they are perfectly equal in strength, for Wind and Lightning. I've heard of many Combination-Ninjutsu for those two at once, but in my entire life I've never met someone with a genuine bloodline."**

Naruto was ecstatic. "What's it called?!"

Kurama flicked her tails in thought. She seemed to be thinking about what it was. _**"I didn't tell him the truth… I just know that he wouldn't be able to restrain himself. Minato had the Kekkei Genkei for Wind and Lightning although he kept it a secret from almost everyone. And Kushina was brilliant when it came to her fire techniques, but to have inherited all three… and equally? To be born with the first Kekkei Tota in decades… and only the fourth in recorded history? I'm not sure how he'd take it…"**_

She tilted her head, looking down at his excited face, wondering just what to say. If he went blabbing to someone he could get himself in serious trouble. As an Uzumaki he was prime real-estate already. And as soon as the village revealed who his father was… he'd have every family in Konoha _throwing_ their daughters at him. Not only was he royalty, but he had two of the most famous clans in his lineage.

To add a Kekkei Genkei would just be overkill. He'd have to worry about arranged marriages and political alliances. Even with what she'd told him… he might still be targeted for kidnapping. Kumo was notorious for that sort of thing and Iwa wasn't much better. If _anyone_ found out that he had a Kekkei Tota it would be painting a bulls eye on his back.

Even smaller villages would risk war for the chance to wield a power like that, not to mention her. Son of the Fourth Hokage and one of the last Uzumaki…. The Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi… and possessing the rarest bloodline in history to date. There would be absolutely no chance for peace. Even if there wasn't a minor war over him he'd be dogged by everyone and their second eldest daughter. It wasn't in the least bit helpful that he was going to look just like his father when he was older. Once he shed his skin as a weakling the girls would be chasing him clan and bloodline or not.

Kurama smiled and patted Naruto on his head, rubbing between his foxy ears. He almost purred, making a happy rumble in his chest. **"It's a lesser version of something called Plasma Release Naruto. It's beyond rare. As far as I know the true version is completely extinct."** She grabbed hold of his face with both hands, bringing his soft crimson eyes close to her own. **"I need you to promise that you won't tell anyone about this. I promise to train you, but you MUST not reveal this ability."**

He looked forlorn. "But why Kurama….?"

She pulled him into a hug. **"Because I say so okay? I don't want you to get hurt. Others will try and steal you from here and take your powers for their own."** Naruto's hands brushed over one of her tails as he craned his head back to look in her eyes. **"They would do that anyway to take me from you. So promise that you'll keep this between us two."**

Naruto had closed his eyes once again. "I promise. And Naruto Uzumaki never goes back on his word."

She smiled as he closed his eyes, letting head fall on her shoulder. Soon he fell asleep. _**"He seems to like it here. Perhaps he's growing too attached to me… If this keeps up he won't be able to sleep without coming here…"**_ One hand rose to touch the tips of his ears. _**"Naruto… I wonder what your parents would say, with me deciding to raise you now? Would they understand? I think Minato might but Kushina would be jealous."**_ Kurama smiled slightly and relaxed. _**"A little rest wouldn't hurt right now. I doubt anyone will come here anyway so the Henge can drop for now…"**_

She closed her eyes and drifted off.

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

 **And that's a wrap. No long author's note this time. Just a few words on the pairings.**

 ** _Confirmed girls:_** **Karin, Tayuya, Fem-Gaara, Karui**

 ** _Possible girls:_** **Amaru, Honoka (Keep in mind both are redheads), Ryuzetsu, Haku, Koyuki, Shizuka**

 ** _Girls who won't be included:_** **The usual girls from Konoha, those who have a large age gap with Naruto, and either of the Female Jinchuriki.**

 **Keep in mind that there is quite a bit of gender bending in this story. So if you have an interesting idea for a switch you'd like to see… put it in the reviews. So with all that in mind PLEASE REVIEW! That's what makes the writing easy!**


	2. Chapter 1

**(Updated: 6/24/18)**

 **(I don't own any part of Naruto)**

 _ **Chapter 1**_

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

Mist clung to the beach as a ship slowly approached the shore. It moved silently, its engine off and oars muffled with rags. No one could know of its approach. That was imperative. If the Loyalists found out about the supply run they would be living of water and emergency rations. And while water was in great supply food was not.

After several minutes the prow nudged into the soft sand. Standing at the shore was a man. He was tall with grey blue hair and a severe expression. Without a word he raised his hand and motioned his forces forward. Their camp was half a day to the north. They needed to smuggle the supplies inland before the dense mist was burnt off near mid day.

If they weren't finished by then, there would be nothing they could do but continue on… despite the fact that they'd be sitting ducks.

After a short while his men returned with their packs filled to bursting with the supplies they needed, desperately needed he might add. The leader of the rebellion was a woman of many talents. Creating food out of thin air wasn't one of them. He just wished that something would go right for once.

He gestured for them to move out. Then he activated his Dojutsu before setting out in the lead position.

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

Naruto grunted as he finished his set of 300 pushups. Sweat poured down his face as he forced himself into a backwards roll, flipping to his feet at the end of the maneuver. He landed and managed to keep from stumbling. He reflected that training for almost six hours was one of the last things he'd envisioned when Kurama talked about training his Wind affinity. However that was exactly what she had in mind. Naruto still remembered her words to him.

 _ **"Naruto, you should always remember that it is the training you do 'after' you are exhausted that makes the difference. Until you feel like you can't move anymore you will train. Up until that point everything you do is a warm-up."**_ Her grin had been feral. _**"Once you feel as though the weight of the world is on your shoulders… then I will spar with you."**_

Naruto ran forward and jumped up, grabbing a hold of a thin tree branch, easily twenty feet in their air. He hung suspended for a moment. Then he hauled himself up till his chin met the branch and repeated. It was arduous, tedious, and seemed like a roundabout way of increasing his affinity to Wind.

A humorous chuckled echoed from the back of his mind, making him shiver slightly. _**"Tedious am I? Maybe I won't show you one of the great styles I have had the privilege to learn over my long life. There are so many more… inferior styles. Perhaps you should try something at Genin level before you attempt to master a Jonin level Taijutsu style."**_

Naruto grimaced and continued to pull himself level with the branch, his muscles straining. _"No.. I want to learn something worthwhile! There's no point in learning a Taijutsu that I'll discard in a few years right?!"_

She chided him gently, _**"No Naruto. The more styles you know the better. While mastering one great technique may be useful and quite deadly, it is another thing entirely to be skilled with three or four different styles. With four you have variety and the opportunity to change mid battle should things turn sour."**_

He didn't acknowledge her that time, choosing instead to continue at a faster pace. Once he was finished with this set she had promised to show him the basics of Mito Uzumaki's infamous Taijutsu style, 'Reapers Dance'. Kurama said that it was the signature Taijutsu style of the Uzumaki clan royalty. That in and of its self made him ecstatic to learn it. At first he'd asked if she knew his father's style. She admitted that while she knew what it looked like she couldn't teach him.

That had been a major let down, but he kept a stiff upper lip and buckled down on memorizing what Kurama could teach him. For now she explained that she had six styles she could show him. The first was the Reaper's Dance. This was heavily dependent on footwork and extreme agility. However it was also quite taxing to learn. Therefore his body had to be hardened. He was strong for his age, but he was still only thirteen. True strength training would take a while to accomplish.

The second style she knew was called The Crimson Step. She explained that this required masterful precession that only the most dedicated warriors could acquire. It also used the circular movements and extreme power that most Uzumaki had bred into them. This, she said, would be the easiest to learn and the hardest to master. However as with all the techniques she knew, it was an old style from a nearly extinct clan. He'd have the advantage since no one would have any ability to predict his movements.

It took a half an hour to finish the last set. He hurriedly let go of the branch and fell to the ground, narrowly avoiding a sprained ankle. He sighed and walked over to mark off training for the day. It had been two days since he was released from the hospital. As of yet, Kakashi hadn't come to start the test yet. Naruto guessed they were still worried about him. The old man kept inquiring about any strange dreams he might have had.

Naruto smiled at that. His dreams had been untroubled since Kurama had begun letting him sleep by the seal with her. He rarely even remembered what he dreamed of, which in comparison to the visions granted in days and months before, was blissfully peaceful. He wouldn't have traded anything for Kurama's companionship.

She was friend, mentor, conspirator… maybe even mother… a bit.

Naruto paused as Kurama hummed lightly. _**"Mother huh…? Kushina wouldn't be too happy to hear that. But I suppose that is how you've started to treat me. I won't object to you referring to me as Kaa-chan."**_ He held his breath as she drew the words out. _**"…If you want Naruto-kun."**_

 _"It's fine right now Kurama. Anyway… could you bring me to the seal now? I'm ready."_

 _ **"I see. Give me a moment please."**_

Naruto closed his eyes and felt himself fall once more into the seal chamber. Kurama was waiting for him, having changed her appearance once more. Her Kimono was looser and shorter, allowing for a better range of movement. Instead of red trim the entire garment was a dark maroon.

 **"Now Naruto. This Taijutsu style is rather dangerous to the user as well as the opponent. It was designed, if I remember correctly, as a counter to her husband's signature style. Hashirama Senju's style was later passed down to his descendants and was adopted as the Senju clan's preferred Taijutsu technique.**

Naruto scratched his head. "So.. uh, this isn't a Senju style?"

 **"No.. of course not. Keeping in tradition with the spiral movements of the Uzumaki's fighting techniques, Miko Uzumaki made sure it was based on circular movements. The Reaper's Dance requires the use of two long swords of one kind or another. Double edged would be preferable, but the standard katana will be sufficient for learning the forms."** She saw that he had a question. **"Yes Naruto-kun?"**

"Well, it's just been bothering me for a while since you told me about it. Wouldn't this be a Kenjutsu since it uses swords?"

" **Technically, but no. It is more of a mix between the two. There is just as much hand to hand in this style as there is sword play."**

"How…." He was very confused. "If you have a sword in both hands…?"

" **Did you know there is a man in Kumo who uses eight swords simultaneously?"**

Naruto's jaw dropped. "How?!"

" **That isn't important. He can use eight swords with only two hands. What makes you think you can't pummel someone to death with your fists and still use two blades? Or four… or six?"** The blond looked baffled for a moment and then nodded. He closed his eyes and focused on the mind-scape around him, forming it into weapons. They wouldn't cut him or Kurama, but within his mind they had weight and felt real enough. Kurama nodded in approval. **"Very good, now come here. I can't show you the movements from there."**

Naruto walked between the bars of the huge cage seal and stood opposite of her. She stepped forward, moving to his side. He watched as two blades materialized out of thin air, seeming to flow from her hands. He gulped nervously. "Are… those made out of your chakra?"

 **"Yes Naruto-kun… and these will cut you… even here. The blades you carry are a simple mental manifestation, without true solidity. You aren't skilled enough to form a blade out of pure chakra regardless."**

"Okay."

 **"Follow my movements Naruto and try to keep up. I know you're tired, but it will help your muscles memorize the movements and besides… you'll be sparring with me afterwards, so you have a lot of incentive to get it right."**

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

Kakashi knew that there was something wrong the moment he saw Naruto arrive at training field 7. Three days had passed since he's postponed the Genin acceptance test on account of Naruto mysterious ailment. And now here he was as if absolutely nothing had ever happened. He was back to his unpredictable self, or more to the point his overenthusiastic knucklehead self. Kakashi wondered if he'd ever understand Naruto's boundless energy.

He was able to literally exude an aura of anticipation. As it was his chakra was giving his skin a soft blue glow. It made the white haired Jonin rather queasy watching him.

Kakashi's visible eye focused on the blond bundle of energy more intently. There was something… off about him, as if the way he looked wasn't natural. Although it was more likely as though his true appearance was hidden. Kakashi thought tiredly, _"It's probably a henge… but why he would have such a strong illusion placed over him is beyond me."_ He idly considered peeking at Naruto with his Sharingan. That was guaranteed to show him what was beneath the false features. _"But if I do that, then Sasuke will start badgering me about my Doujutsu and then it will be one long argument over exactly how I got it and why he should have it instead…. Twerp."_

He sighed as his hand strayed to the pouch on the back of his belt, but no… Icha-Icha was currently disallowed. He cursed under his breath and smiled. His students of course couldn't see this kind and loving gesture on account of his mask. Even if he hadn't been wearing a mask, they probably wouldn't have noticed. Naruto's exuberance had found new direction, mainly in goading Sasuke.

Kakashi sighed more loudly for effect and interrupted their impromptu argument. "Okay… okay. That's enough for now you two. Today we are finally going to proceed with the bell test."

One blank stare and two slightly annoyed looks were all the answer he received. Kakashi mentally prepared himself for the certainty of them failing. This test was supposed to teach teamwork… and as it stood now, he doubted there were many universes where they could possibly succeed. Kakashi imagined Minato's test when he, Obito, and Rin were first made Genin. It was the same test through and through… well, except for the skipping breakfast part.

He seemed to remember that they had only passed by accident. _"I wouldn't doubt that they fail. Sakura might have a head on her shoulders, but she's just wandering around searching for someone to give her orders. Sasuke is too arrogant to give her any and will probably go off alone. That'll leave the blond troublemaker to try and take me on singlehanded."_

Kakashi once again had to restrain himself from looking stupid as he prepared to explain the test to them. Pretending to close a book when he didn't actually have one in hand _would_ be stupid. Once again he mentally cursed Sakura's mother and his _gracious_ Hokage. Then he got down to business. "Right you three, this is how the test works. I have two bells right here." He held them up for them to see. "And it's your job to get them off me. Use any means necessary."

Naruto and Sasuke both grinned, making a slight chill go down the older man's spine. The evil light in their eyes making him rethink his original strategy. "Now here's what makes it interesting. I'm giving you guys four hours to complete this task. If you don't have a bell by then… you'll skip lunch and I'll tie you to one of those wooden stumps over there while you watch your teammates eat. After that… you'll have until diner to get one of the bells."

He eye-smiled. "If you don't have one by then… Back to academy you go." Kakashi pointed with the hand holding the bells to an alarm clock behind them. Even as they watched the hand moved slightly and a long ring echoed through the clearing.

Kakashi saw the blur of movement as all three disappeared. _"Well… this is rather unexpected."_

 **Ooo**

Naruto hid in the shadows, concealing his presence as best as he could. Kurama was helping by withdrawing a good deal of her chakra from his system, significantly reducing his presence to any sensor. He peered out at Kakashi, wondering exactly how to handle him. He needed a bell… but how to get it?

 _"I could attack from behind, but I don't think I can do it without him noticing me. I ain't that quiet. Or maybe I could throw a kunai and miss on purpose… maybe snick one of the bells. Or I might wait until Sasuke or Sakura makes a move and go in for the kill while he's distracted…"_

"Hey Naruto…" A voice whispered past his ear quiet enough that only he could hear it. Naruto's head snapped to the side and he saw Sasuke on the same branch as him.

"Sasuke?"

The dark haired boy nodded to him. "Good spot." He was referring to his hiding place. Naruto was slightly disbelieving. _"Was that a compliment?"_ The Emo king never gave praise to anyone even himself, unless he was talking about how great the Uchiha were.

He shook his head and nodded back. "Thanks… I'm guessing you want to do this together?"

Sasuke looked out to where Kakashi had his back to them. His eyes narrowed as he whispered, "I'm the strongest student from our class… but I'm not stupid. Kakashi is a Jonin for a reason. All three of us couldn't take him out together. But just to get one of the bells… maybe."

He didn't sound too sure of himself, but Naruto mentally smirked at the thought that he was considering teamwork. Usually that was the last thing on his mind. "Should we try and get Sakura's attention?" Personally he thought that was a lost cause and Kurama agreed with him on that.

The Uchiha's dark eyes flicked towards him. "Hell no. She's as useless as art to the blind. I would have got her attention before you, but she only graduated because of academics. You beat a Chunin." The boy smirked. "You might be a dobe, but you have the same drive as I do. Otherwise you'd be dead.

Naruto couldn't help but agree with him. "So how do we take him down? I don't think anything direct will take him of guard."

"Me neither…" Sasuke went silent for a while. "Do you have any offensive jutsu?"

Naruto paused. _"Should I tell him Kurama?"_

Kurama sounded slightly exasperated. _**"Go ahead… but you need to lie about your training. Learning a C-rank wind jutsu in three days would draw more attention than stealing the Forbidden Scroll again."**_

Naruto glanced at Kakashi and spoke under his breath. "I can use a couple. They're wind style."

Sasuke was shocked and he asked louder than he intended, "Wind style? Really?"

"Yeah. Only two of them are offensive… and I really only mastered one."

"What is it?"

Naruto shrugged. "Wind Hammer."

There was a pause as Sasuke mulled over the information. Naruto watched his _possibly_ future teammate carefully. He looked to be thinking a strategy through. Then a smirk twitched across his lips. "Hey Naruto… how good is your timing?"

"As good as it needs to be. Believe it."

Sasuke nodded to himself and twisted so that he could explain the plan he'd come up with.

 **Ooo**

Kakashi stood in the same place as he had started out. Nothing was happening…. Nothing at all. _"Is this really going to be the whole day? Are they going to just sit out there and wait as their time ticks away until the alarm goes off?"_

He groaned inwardly at the prospect. "I'm… sure… that they wouldn't mind me reading to pass the time." He reached back and popped the cover on his back pouch. At that moment Sasuke appeared in the open area in front of him. The Uchiha heir stood there for a moment as if sizing him up. Then he started walking forward. Kakashi watched him curiously as Sasuke drew within ten yards. _"What are you thinking Sasuke?"_

He drew a Kunai and set into a recognizable stance. Kakashi knew it was a slant on one of the three great Uchiha Taijutsu styles. This one was called "Dance of the Blooded Tiger" It utilized swift direct attacks on vital areas to kill or disable the enemy… In that order. _"This could be interesting."_

Sasuke charged.

They met in a clash of steel as Kakashi caught the blow on the metal pale of his gloves. He smiled inwardly. _"He has good strength…better than a normal Genin for sure, but not quite Chunin level. And his timing is excellent."_

Sasuke's blade slid off the gauntlet even as Kakashi took a single step backwards, dodging the next lunge. They exchanged a couple blows, Kakashi making sure to keep his own reaction passive. He wasn't here to brutalize them. Just to let them work out the meaning of the test for themselves. He was a bit disappointed though. Even though he'd figured they wouldn't work together, he'd still hoped they would do so instinctively.

Sasuke's attacks came quickly with a minimum amount of wasted effort but he still needed to work on his reflexes. His movements were timed well. However his body wasn't keeping up with some of his maneuvers.

Then Kakashi felt something wrap around his hand. _"Shit…"_

The second his single eye had closed Sasuke had moved with all the speed he could muster, and wrapped a long coil of high grade ninja wire around his wrist. Kakashi tried to jump back, but found the end of the line anchored in the hard packed dirt. _"This is a new one, keeping me pinned in place won't help though… wait what the…"_

Sasuke had dodged back and was running through several handsigns.

 _"No way he has enough chakra for that…"_

He was wrong. Sasuke drew in a great breath, his small chest expanding as he filled his lungs with air and mixed it with a large quantity of fire chakra. Then he threw himself forward, exhaling at the same time. A stream of fire flew from his mouth forming a huge fireball. It expanded till it was six feet across then blasted towards him.

Kakashi paled and went into action. While normally he wouldn't have been worried in the least about Genin, there was one weakness he'd always had. Durability. He'd always been physically weaker and less _tough_ than those his age and skill. Although he had superior speed, reflexes, and overall tactics to make up for it… there was only so much he could do one handed against a strong fire jutsu. He hurriedly sent lightning chakra into the wire around his wrist, using high frequency vibrations to weaken it. Then pulled hard and it snapped. In the next instant Kakashi leapt straight up avoiding the fireball as it exploded.

 _"That was too close for comfort. I have to admit he's good. If I was a Chunin, that would probably have taken me out… luckily I have more than a few ticks up my sleeve."_

Then Kakashi's eyes caught Sasuke rushing forward in the wake of his attack. Kakashi was still flying upwards from the force of his jump. Then he saw it. Naruto… The blond was rushing in from the other direction.

Sasuke stopped short as Naruto jumped through the flames where his jutsu had impacted. "Naruto! Ready?!"

Naruto nodded as he came to a screech halt. They both started to run though handsigns.

Kakashi realized he was in trouble. _"They were working together the entire time?! How did I not notice him sneaking up behind me?"_

Sasuke finished his handsigns at the exact same time as Naruto. Their faces craned upward as they shouted in unison, "Wind Release: Wind Hammer! / Fire Release: Grand Fireball!" _**"Collaboration Ninjutsu! Greater Scorch Blast!"**_

Sasuke's fireball swelled to huge proportions as he exhaled in Kakashi's direction. At the same moment, Naruto clapped his hands together creating an explosive current of wind straight at him. The two attacks merged as they blazed towards him, the wind style attack hitting the back end of the fire jutsu and flaring the red flames to a blinding white.

Kakashi could feel the heat from where he was, drying his skin out in a split second. His thoughts raced through his options. Lightning was no good. He wasn't good enough with water either. All that was left was fire… _"This is going to take a ridiculous amount of chakra."_

He brought his hands together in the tiger sign and summoned every scrap of chakra he could on such short notice. _"Supreme Fireball!"_ He blew…hard, sending all the chakra he'd gathered directly in the path of their combination attack. His attack was far larger than theirs, but even so it nearly failed to stop it. They collided in mid air, fighting for dominance for three seconds… Then they exploded, sending a rain of fire down upon the training field.

Naruto and Sasuke dodged out of the way while they both started throwing kunai and shuriken at him. Kakashi deflected any that came close to him, ignoring those that would sail past him.

His feet touched the ground a second later as gravity decided he'd been flying too long. Kakashi felt a twinge from his calves and ankles. He'd never had to counter a combination attack like that… Not in midair, not when he was already holding back, and certainly not when it was used by… Genin.

It was a well known fact that the sub elements were many times more effective than singular elements. In the case of wind and fire it was even more deadly. Because it couldn't effectively be combated except by an extremely strong water style jutsu, or the reverse subgroup.

And he didn't have any water style jutsu that would have been usable while thirty feet in the air. So he was forced to use a purely fire jutsu to overpower their combination attack. And he'd needed nearly triple the usual amount of chakra to overcome the pseudo Scorch Release jutsu.

He honestly didn't know whether to be proud that they'd had a good 35% chance of killing him just then… or pissed because they came close to killing him. Hell! This test wasn't even supposed to be a challenge for him. And he was even limiting himself to high Chunin level abilities.

Kakashi looked across to Naruto and Sasuke. His ears were still ringing slightly from the explosion and besides that… He looked down at his belt.

Both bells were gone. He sighed, realizing that he could have been a _bit_ more energetic when he was deflecting and dodging their missiles. Apparently a few of their attacks hadn't been to kill at all, but were aimed at the bells on his belt…

He heard a girlish squeal and turned slightly. Sure enough there was Sakura with the two bells in one hand running over to them. _"This is… the first time any team has passed the test… I'll be damned."_ Kakashi wondered if this team had a hope to survive or even thrive after all. If they could pass his test… Then maybe then he wouldn't have to worry about the problems that had torn his own squad apart.

 **Ooo**

Naruto grinned at Sasuke, who he had to admit, was an excellent partner. Between them they'd figured out the perfect plan for taking Kakashi on. Naruto hadn't expected to win even with that amazing combo, but he thought that it would show that they were both serious about being Shinobi.

Sasuke smirked back at him as if saying, _"Nice work."_

Naruto grinned wider and then blinked as he saw Sakura running past Kakashi with the two bells in her hand. _"Hey! She has a use after all!"_ He leaned in close to Sasuke and whispered, "Well… At least Sakura can fetch."

The Uchiha's face went blank for a second before he was forced to restrain a chuckle. He brought his hand to his mouth a coughed, disguising it as Sakura reached them. She looked disheveled and rather worn out. If he'd walked in on them at that moment he would have sworn she did most of the fighting.

"Sasuke-kun! I got the bells. One for you and one for me right!"

Both boys stiffened, their minds running along parallel lines. _"Is she completely clueless?!"_ Sasuke grunted as Sakura stopped in front of him and held out one of the bells.

"Here you go Sasuke-kun… That was amazing how you totally put sensei on the defensive like that! I bet you would have got him for sure if Naruto-baka didn't interrupt your jutsu." She shot a glare at Naruto. "But I got the bells so at least we can go ahead to become Genin!"

Naruto suddenly discovered a keen dislike for his teammate, one that hadn't been there before. _"What the fuck?! She DID NOT just say that… AND FOR KAMI'S SAKE! She fucking said it out loud…. IN FRONT OF ME?!"_ His eyes narrowed as Kurama muttered darkly in the back of his mind about killing insolent peasants…

But before he could shout at her Sasuke snatched both of the bells out of her hand. "You didn't do anything but pick them up off the ground after we got them off him. Naruto actually helped me. I thought you were useless before, but now there isn't any doubt."

Sakura went abruptly pale. "B..but you can't mean that!?"

Sasuke closed his eyes as if seeking patience from some greater power. "If I didn't mean what I said, I wouldn't have said it. Unlike you who will say anything just to look good in front of me." He opened his eyes and took one of the bells from his hand and thumped it into Naruto's chest. "You are annoying me, insulting Naruto, and wasting both our time and our sensei's." He pushed Sakura aside and started towards Kakashi who stood a little ways away listening.

Naruto looked between him and Sakura, weighing things in his mind. A moment later he brushed past her as well, leaving the pinket to piece together her suddenly fragile psyche. He used to like Sakura. Maybe even a little crush at one point. But he'd lost a lot of respect that last year of Academy. All the stupid fangirl shit and her blatant disrespect that went above and beyond the villager's hatred.

And then she goes and pulls a stunt like that. He could put up with a lot. And by a lot he meant a massive amount of abuse, scorn, and anger. But Sakura's mistreatment was far more personal than the village's overall hatred of him. She had decided to object to his existence simply because of as childish crush on someone who was obviously not interested. He couldn't understand it.

He REFUSED to understand it.

And so he walked past her, deciding to focus on himself this time around. Hell, he might get to be friends with Sasuke. They both liked to train. It turned out that Sasuke wasn't as big an ass as he originally thought. Not to mention he lived alone. The two of them could actually train with each other without stupid family members trying to stop them. It was a win/win.

He could get stronger and have a half way decent friend and he wouldn't have to deal with Sakura. If she was sent back to the academy then he wouldn't have to deal with her anymore.

 _ **"Serves her right for talking about my kit like that…"**_ Kurama growled in the back of his mind. _**"If I were in your shoes she would have a broken nose and a black eye right now. Bitch…"**_

He grimaced as he walked up next to Sasuke who had just handed his bell to Kakashi. He placed his own on the Jonin's palm.

Kakashi didn't know how to react. Naruto and Sasuke had basically just told Sakura to go jump off a cliff. That was NOT how a team was supposed to operate. And yet he had to admit Sakura was pathetic. Her goals were idiotic, her likes were fleeting, and her dislikes were unjustified. Even her skills were subpar and… to top all of that off she was blatantly insulting.

He didn't know how Naruto retrained the urge to knock her on her ass, even if he was glad that he didn't. If Sakura's mother found out that he let the "demon" hit her daughter there would be hell to pay. He was sure it wouldn't be permanent, but the civilian council could make serious roadblocks when they wanted. Saya Haruno did have a loud voice in the council. Kakashi looked down at the bells in his hand before he closed his hand and stowed them in his pocket. He looked at them. Sasuke looked ticked off, but seemed to have put Sakura out of his immediate thoughts.

Naruto on the other hand… He seemed to be sad and angry at the same time. His face twitched every few seconds, showing the tension built up in him. What worried him was the aura he could once again feel as a tangible thing. It wasn't all excited this time though. It was more… enraged.

He cleared his throat. "I… I'll get back to you on this." He raised his voice so that Sakura could hear, "All three of you be back here two days from now at 7:30. Understood?"

The two boys nodded before walking off in the same direction. Sakura just stood where they had left her, shell-shocked. Kakashi took a deep breath and walked over. He needed to do some damage control before Sakura went home to cry on her parent's shoulders.

 _"Troublesome."_ He paused mid step, _"Damn… I'm starting to sound like a Nara."_

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

Naruto and Sasuke walked together out of the training field before turning into the village. The guards nodded to them, but took note of the _displeased_ looks on their faces. They walked through the village, not speaking until they reached the point where their paths diverged. Both of them stopped then. As if by mutual consent they turned and shook hands.

"You think we passed?" Naruto asked.

"We better have." Sasuke muttered something under his breath before asking, "Do you want to come by the Uchiha compound to train sometime? I could use a sparring partner who isn't trying to coddle me."

Naruto grinned, but it was more feral than kind. "Sure Sasuke. It'll be good to spar with someone who isn't trying to kill me for real."

Uchiha and Uzumaki shook once more before letting go and returning to their respective homes, Sasuke to the Uchiha compound and Naruto to his rundown apartment.

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

Sasuke dropped into a chair as he thought about what had happened so far that day. It had been very full and it wasn't even lunch yet. First he'd found that Naruto wasn't nearly as dense or unskilled as he was made out to be. Although after he was told that Naruto took on a Chunin and won, he'd had serious doubts about how much truth the rumors held.

Second he'd discovered that he and Naruto shared a talent for battle strategy. The blond was badly under educated, but he caught on quickly and he thought way out of the box. As far as he was concerned, that made him worth ten of Sakura. And speaking of Sakura… that was the third event of the morning.

He had lost any and all respect he had for her. She was dead weight. He couldn't believe that she could be blind enough not to recognize that he and Naruto were working _together!_ And not only that, but to go up and say… _that?!_ Did she not understand how her words could hurt others?

He'd seen the look in Naruto's eyes. That smile fading as the equivalent of a ten ton door slammed shut on his emotions. He knew what Naruto was feeling. It might not have had the same cause, but Naruto was as close as he could get to someone who understood him. And it _royally_ pissed him off to listen to that useless excuse for a Kunoichi bag on him like that.

 _"If she doesn't get sent back to the Academy I'm going to have to talk to the Hokage. He never coddled me, or treated me as some piece of delicate porcelain. He'd understand that she shouldn't be a ninja. Not with the way she acts. It would be putting me in danger, Naruto and sensei too. All she has to do is make some rookie mistake or say something idiotic and we'd be done for."_

Sasuke grimaced and stood to go into his room. That last jutsu had taken a lot out of him. He needed a good rest before he overused a fire jutsu again.

His eyes closed as he lay down on his bed.

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

Naruto didn't stay at his apartment for long. After a moment of feeling both furious and if it made any sense, somewhat satisfied, he decided to go train.

He thought about it as he made his way to the Forest of Death. Anger was still boiling inside him. Rage from the mistreatment that always, no matter what he did, seemed to follow. And at the same time he felt good that he and Sasuke had worked something out. It would be great to be able to spar with someone who was better than him, but still couldn't and wouldn't hold back.

Unlike fighting a Chunin or Jonin, someone who could simply decide to end it, Sasuke would actually have to work hard if he wanted to keep up. It would put both of them on their toes at all times since their fighting level was so close together. And he was just fine with that.

He might even teach the Uchiha a thing or two.

Naruto landed a few minutes later in the clearing where he usually trained, immediately going to the other side and marking the day off on the tree. The day before he'd bought a little calendar and pinned it in place so he could better keep track. And beside that was a little timer. Kurama had suggested getting one for when she wasn't supervising him.

That was another great thing about his inner demon. She had absolute time and direction, meaning she always knew exactly what time it was down to the second… and she could always tell you what direction was what. It was extremely useful, especially when navigating places like the Forest of death where everything could seem the same.

Kurama sighed. _ **"Speaking about things that are great…you know what would really hit the spot right now…?"**_

 _"I don't know… the village?"_

 _ **"Aw! That's cruel!"**_ He could almost hear the pout in her voice. _**"Actually it has been too long since I've tasted real food. Not that I ate much of anything in my unsealed state…"**_ She giggled then. _**"No…I was thinking that I could do with a long torture session with my favorite little ningen."**_

 _"That's "only" little ningen to you, and what do you mean by torture?"_ He wasn't exactly sure he liked the sound of that.

 _ **"Oh it's really simple. Seeing how you just showed off a C-rank Wind release jutsu with near perfect mastery to a Jonin who knows that you've never even been tested for your affinity…. There will be repercussions."**_

He was _really_ starting to dislike where this was going.

 _ **"Therefore I feel the need to tear your little brain apart by explaining the tedious nature of events to come… Now, do sit down. This may take a while and I don't intend of letting you out until I've beaten the lesson into your thick skull."**_

Naruto paled slightly and walked over to sit with his back against a tree. He chose a position that would leave him with the least cramps when he woke up… and let his eyes close. It was only a moment and he found himself sitting across from her with the great cage bars between them. Kurama looked to have changed her attire again. On this occasion she was wearing a dark orange kimono with darker blue trim that seemed to have a spiral design stitched in.

He grinned. "Great choice of color!"

A smirk curled the corner of her red lips. **"Don't think that your honeyed words will get you out of a tongue lashing today. I need you to understand your delicate position."**

"I'm not really sure what that means…."

She sighed again and closed her eyes. **"Simply be quiet unless you have a meaningful question."**

"okay….."

 **"Good… Now to start off with I need to explain three things to you. The first is the purpose and the duties of the village's Civilian Council… The second is the importance of bloodlines and other such abilities… And the third is the existence of a man named Danzo."**

"Danzo? Who's he?"

 **"I'll explain about him last."** She shifted to a better position and began. **"A long time ago, almost five human generations to be exact, Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage and the husband of my first container, put into place two sets of rules."**

 **"These rules applied to two separate parts of the village. One for the ninja and the other for the civilians. The one pertaining to ninja was much longer and pertained to 'everything' that remotely affected the Shinobi of the village. Thus… because it is a military village, almost every aspect of the village is in some way connected to its Shinobi forces."**

Naruto knew that. It's was talked about in History at the Academy. He didn't really know why she was making such a big deal out of it though. Kurama seemed to notice his indifference and sent of a burst of chakra to snick him in the forehead as she continued.

 **"Over the period of about… two years.. the people of the village who were not Shinobi came to believe that this system was unfair. Because of the interwoven nature of the military and the villager's daily lives, they saw it as unfair control over them. It began to sow the seeds of unrest. To combat this Hashirama set up a secondary council, similar to the council of clan heads. Its duty was to see that the rights of the common folk were not trampled on."**

Kurama made a sour face. **"Control is a dangerous thing and even more so in the hands of those who have never had power. The Civilian Council was made up of merchants, business owners, and a few influential heads of family. They made sure… just as Shodaime intended… that those without Shinobi abilities had some say in the village."**

 **"However… they also looked after their own interests above and beyond that of the village. Merchants sought to expand trade between villages to increase their own wealth. To help this they made it a requirement that all squads had to give credence to foreign ninja when outside the Leaf… for non-combative missions."**

"Huh? Why would they want that? Wouldn't tha…"

 **"The purpose was so that there would be less conflict between villages, allowing the merchants to have better trade with the "civilians" in other nations. But it also crippled our effectiveness in sabotage missions. As you can probably guess, that one rule didn't destroy our ability to operate outside the land of fire… but seventy years of the Civilian Council has indeed made life very hard for Shinobi. Instead of doing what we are told and our leaders being responsible, every Genin, Chunin, and Jonin must weigh the consequences of their actions carefully."**

"Because if they do something that hurts the villagers then they can get in big trouble?"

 **"Correct. And before you say it, I know full well how idiotic it is. Those who are being protected and benefiting from it should not have a say in how they are being defended. Merely grateful that they have such good fortune in the first place."**

Naruto was confused. "So how does that hurt me?"

 **"Because the Civilians are shorter sighted than any of the Shinobi. The Kyuubi attack, as it's been branded, was the single worst thing to happen in recent memory. Because of that and the many lives that were lost, you my container, are seen as a huge threat. Not only to the village should I be released, but to all of their precious pocket books. They will take every opportunity to distract you and make your life miserable. Few if any of them wouldn't celebrate your death. For Shinobi it's bad enough. You are a living reminder of those they lost. To the villagers and the Civilian council, you are a potential disaster."**

Kurama stood and turned away from him, pacing on the other side of the bars. Her tone was less than pleased. **"With that in mind you also have** _ **extremely**_ **rare bloodlines. If they found out about your innate abilities they would attempt to have you used as breeding stock."** She glanced back at him. **"The combination of Lightning and Wind affinities is so rare there isn't even an official name for the bloodline! You couldn't imagine the price on your head the moment one of the other villages finds out."**

Naruto had gone pale. "Breeding stock…?"

She nodded. **"Bloodlines can manifest out of thin air… but almost all bloodlines are transmittable through genetics. Your children will have at least a fifty-fifty chance of inheriting your Kekkei Tota. Much more if your mate shares one or more elements with you…."** Kurama looked almost mournful. **"There is nothing I can do to help in this regard. This is a gift and a curse. Your power may be unmatched in time, but there will always be those who seek you, hoping to steal it. The older you get, the more protection you will have because of your own increasing abilities and the strength of your allies, but… you must be cautious… extremely cautious, that no one takes advantage of you.**

He felt like he'd been slapped. There had always been that hatred, but to know that the villagers might sell him down the road… as a stud horse… just for money was unthinkable. Did they not know he was human? That he was just like them…? Naruto's mind caught then on her words. "Wait Kurama! You said I had a Kekkei Tota! What is that?!"

She sat down again, her tails whipping around in minor agitation. **"A Kekkei Tota is the next level after Kekkei Genkei. It is the equal mix of three elemental affinities. You have that… and it will make you twenty times more valuable to the right people."**

"But you said!?"

 **"I lied. You have three elements in perfect harmony. Wind, Lightning, and Fire. If I remember correctly, it's called Plasma release. And… it is even more devastating than its counterpart... Dust release, which is the only other known Kekkei Tota."**

Naruto was blown away. "You mean _only_ other Kekkei Tota as is there is only one other guy with it?!"

Kurama explained. **"Lord Muu, who was the previous Tsuchikage was born with affinities for Wind, Fire, and Earth. This became known as Dust release, or Particle Style. It is centered around jutsu that destroy matter at a molecular level, literally disintegrating anything it touches. So far… there is no known counter for his famed Particle Style. And his student, Onoki the Fence Sitter inherited his teachings. While Onoki wasn't born with the Kekkei Tota, he has the ability to use all three elements together… and thus use a lesser version of the original."** She smiled grimly and gestured to him with a languid motion of her hand. **"But you have Plasma release, which is strong against Dust release. Your fire and wind affinities would cancel out his and then your lightning wound tear through his earth style. All in all…. What I am trying to tell you Naruto, is that you have** _ **the most**_ **powerful bloodline in recorded history."**

Naruto sat running through it in his mind. It was several minutes before he asked, "So… um… when do you start training me to use it?"

She growled. **"Patience kit. I'll get to that eventually. For now I need to promise that you won't reveal anything but your Wind affinity until I tell you."**

He nodded. "I promise! And Naruto Uzumaki never goes back on his word!"

 **"That's the best I can hope for then…"** Kurama motioned for him to come forward. He stood and walked up to her, sitting back down and letting her pulled him into her embrace. Kurama purred slightly as he smoothed a hand over one tail. **"Now I imagine you need more insight into avoiding the pitfalls those stupid villagers will set up for you…."** She smiled slightly, dragging her fingers though his blond hair, attempting to tame it into something more… stylish, but failing. **"How about this…I'll get to work on adjusting your chakra network while you listen."**

"Okay…"

She reached out for his chakra directly, circumventing the seal somewhat while she was in skin contact with him. Her energy flowed through his chakra network, slowly opening all the chakra pathways so that she could properly shift his coils into more advantageous positions. It was very slow work because she still couldn't use much of her power at once, but ever so slowly, she tweaked his body. As she did so she began to speak, telling him how to get out of certain situations and in general work around politics. Naruto sucked it all in without noticing that the cage around them was becoming less gloomy, more bright.

Kurama closed her eyes allowing her chakra to work its magic on him. Naruto's Uzumaki heritage was a greater gift than he could ever realize, something given to him by his ancestors. It was said that the best of the Kaguya clan could manipulate their bones with a thought… But the Uzumaki clan had a far more powerful ability, if less noticeable. For Uzumaki could actually manipulate the chakra in their own bodies when it would normally act passively.

They had the talent to open or close their chakra points, or even the Eight Celestial gates. Some had used their abilities to literally rearrange their chakra network… over a period of years of course. In essence Uzumaki could alter the way in which chakra normally flowed.

Her previous container had the power to manifest chains of purple chakra. They were more than sufficient to hold tailed beasts down, even her. And that was one of the minor manipulations. Although, few Uzumaki had made use of external chakra conversion techniques as they were called. Kushina was just a bit… more violent than most Uzumaki. Which was truly saying something considering how inherently brutal the Uzumaki clan had been. Peaceful and vicious at the same time…

Kurama subtly cut off Naruto's affinities to Lightning and Fire. She could keep them unconnected to the rest of his chakra network for… five or six days without harming him, or weakening the affinity, but she had no other choice. Kakashi would undoubtedly check all their affinities the next time they met. She couldn't risk the Jonin finding out about his bloodline. The man had far too many issues with divided loyalties in her opinion.

She sighed to herself and mentally reviewed all the different jutsu she knew for Wind release. Naruto would need to be a master of Wind so that he wouldn't be put in a corner and forced to use his other elements… And that would all mean a ton of training. She hoped the blond was ready for it.

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

 **And that's all folks. If you've got questions message me! Remember to review and critique too!**

 **Yes that was Sakura bash…. And no I don't regret it.**


	3. Chapter 2

**(Updated: 6/24/18)**

 **Chapter 2 of the rewrite is here! Let's see just how much I can screw up Naruto canon and still have everything come out good in the end. And for the first time I'd like to do some reader responses!**

 **Haades** **: Um…how about no. The LAST thing anyone needs is a fanatical female version of Kimmimaro. I mean that guy is more fanatical than ISIS! Sorry, but that guy is crazy. I mean, willingly giving his body to Orochimaru? I would say he was an idiot but he was smart…so yeah…. I mean no!**

 **Facebreaker17** **: Sasuke… hm… Yes, I can say with near certainty that he will be good (or at least less of a homicidal asshole) than he was in canon. Seeing how I'm trying to make this story more realistic one of the things that needs to change is the "ease" with which the Sound Four infiltrated the village. I mean come on. Itachi and Kisame get spotted by Kakashi but those four retards (who got killed by Genin) sneak in and out with the Uchiha heir?**

 **PikachuXdigimon** **: Thank you .The bashing will continue. And I've got other characters in mind too.**

 **(I don't own any part of Naruto) unfortunately…**

 _ **Chapter 2**_

 _ **Ooo**_

 _ **Ooo**_

Kakashi Hatake stood with two dozen other Jonin instructors. Each of them had their own Genin team, which needed to be judged. And today… today would be the deciding day for many teams. Each instructor had their own test, sometimes passed down from generation to generation, to prove that their students have what it takes to become ninja.

It started out as it usually did. Hiruzen Sarutobi stood in front of them with a clip board and a frown.

"Squad 1!?"

The older man to the back of the room stepped forward, "Squad 1 fails. None of them have the chakra control or reserves to become Genin at this time. One of them never will."

Sarutobi nodded. "Next! Squad 2!?"

A wiry man who looked to be in his early fifties spoke up. "Failed. They don't understand the concept of teamwork and have no interest in hearing about it either."

Sarutobi checked another team off the list and it went much the same way until they reached team five. Then he started in on the other teams, heading backwards towards Zero. Kakashi knew it was because the list organized by name not by team.

"Squad 10!?"

Asuma Sarutobi stepped up to speak, "Squad 10 passes by the skin of their teeth." He puffed on his cigarette. "They all have skill in basic techniques and understand teamwork. And they have their clan techniques to fall back on."

The Third Hokage smiled for the first time, marking that team as passed on his board. "Good to hear it." He turned to Kakashi, who was standing in front. "How about Squad 7?"

Kakashi received raised eyebrows from the other Jonin when he didn't immediately proclaim them failures. As it was, he'd never passed a team before.. not even once. He sighed loudly. "Actually I have a bit of a problem on that end. I'm undecided as to whether to pass them or not." He scratched the back of his head in a self deprecating way as whispers broke out among the other Jonin.

Asuma looked shocked. "Damn Kakashi… they must really be something? You've never passed a team in your life."

Kurenai Yuhi nodded. "Yes… it's very odd."

They turned to looked at Sarutobi as he asked, "Tell me. What special circumstances have arisen to give you doubt?"

There was a hush around the room as Kakashi shrugged. "You know that my squad consists of Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sakura Haruno…."

"Yes, I am very aware."

Kakashi decided to get this out of the way. "Sakura has almost no talent for being a Kunoichi. She is dense as stone, slow, unskilled, and doesn't understand the basics of teamwork. And the entire time she could do nothing but faun over the Uchiha to the point where she was utterly useless."

Beside him Asuma grunted. "I'd have the same problem with Ino if the boy was on my team. But why are you still considering letting them pass. We operate in squads of four. That has always been the case."

He looked to Asuma. "Naruto and Sasuke demonstrated a level of teamwork and skill at moderate Chunin level…. or higher."

There were gasps around the room. Kurenai demanded, "You've got to be kidding me. Chunin level?!"

Kakashi merely nodded. "Sasuke and Naruto teamed up from the very start in a very clever ploy used to entrap me… not just to get their goal, but to kill me. They aren't as soft as I thought they would be. In addition to their teamwork, Sasuke showed that he had a strong fire affinity and used the Grand Fireball technique."

Asuma's jaw dropped and his cigarette fell out. "He used a high Chunin level jutsu and he isn't even officially a Genin yet!? And it was an elemental release too?! He must be a prodigy like Itachi was."

Sarutobi asked quietly, "And Naruto?"

Kakashi couldn't help but smile, though he knew it would go unseen. "He surprised me even more. He managed to sneak up on me without me noticing him at all. Which I would never have imagined was possible. Then he coordinated with Sasuke almost perfectly… and to top it all off used a Wind style jutsu equal to Sasuke's…." He shifted nervously knowing his reputation could go either way. Either he was losing his touch or his students were just that good. "…I wouldn't normally admit to such a thing, but they had a one in three chance of killing me with their trick."

Asuma, who was bending down to retrieve his dropped cigarette paused and straitened up. "You're joking."

"They timed the Grand Fireball to be released a split second before Naruto hit the back of the jutsu with the Wind Hammer jutsu. It created a bastardized version of the Scorch Release, Greater Scorch Blast. It nearly got me too. I was thirty feet in the air with no way to get out of the way. Had to use my second strongest fire jutsu to overpower theirs."

A second later Sarutobi asked dumbly, "Are you saying… that two students fresh out of the academy used a high Chunin level collaboration Ninjutsu? And even though under normal circumstances they shouldn't have even been taught about combination jutsu the two of them still managed to pull it off… as you say… almost perfectly?"

Kakashi nodded.

Sarutobi considered this for only a brief moment. He quickly realized that he couldn't deny them this. The clan heads and the Civilian council would throw a fit if Sasuke wasn't given a pass. And it would be an insult to Minato and Kushina not to put Naruto through just because of a talentless girl. And besides… it sounded like they were already a perfect match.

He raised his head to the hall of Jonin. "Naruto and Sasuke pass! Put the Haruno girl back into Academy. I will find a replacement member for the team. In the meantime I want you to train them exclusively. No missions for a month. I want you to make sure you know the extent of their abilities and skills. By that time I should have found someone to replace your fourth member who will compliment their skills."

Under his mask, Kakashi smiled again. That was just perfect. And he would be free to read Icha-Icha… with the brat of a fangirl gone.

Things were looking up.

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

Kurama cracked one eye open as she felt her tampering was complete….for now. She knew that she would have to constantly adjust things for the next 7 to 10 years. After all, chakra networks weren't meant to be reorganized quite so easily. Naruto's powerful connection to the Uzumaki clan traits would help immensely, but it would still be a strain on his young body.

She hoped that her skillful manipulations had the desired effect….

A while later Naruto woke. Sometime during the intervening time he must have slipped down the side of the tree to curl up into a ball. His own eyes cracked open, crimson in the dappled light. His henge was deactivated at the moment, revealing his true features to the dark forest. Naruto rubbed at his eyes and scratched his ears. Then he sat up yawning.

Around him the forest was just beginning to lose its self to the embrace of night again. He wondered how long he'd been out of it. _"How long was I asleep I wonder… It must have been a while. I feel pretty cramped."_ He glanced around attuning his keen senses to the area around him. It was getting a little easier to deal with the heightened noise, but certain things still bothered him.

Naruto leaned back against the tree wondering why he was so sleepy all the time these days. It wasn't like him. Oh, sure he liked to sleep, but he'd never been someone who would rather sleep than train… or prank someone. Why had that changed?

The voice of Kurama came in answer, _**"It's because of me… Unfortunately for you schedule, your body will need more rest than it usually does. Don't worry. You can rest your mind for as long as you need with me. However your body will need some time to adjust. The enhancements I made require copious amounts of time to fine tune."**_

 _"Uh…what does copious mean?"_

A sigh and a shifting from Kurama. _**"It simply another way of saying a lot."**_

 _"Oh…."_ He levered himself up and stretched, making sure he was limber. "How long was I asleep?"

 _ **"By my knowledge a day and a night passed in your world."**_

"I slept a whole 24 hours?!"

 _ **"A little more than that actually."**_

Naruto whistled. That was the longest he'd ever slept. Including the time he forced himself to stay up for almost two weeks straight just to prove he could do it. He yawned loudly, filling the clearing with the sound of it. Then he quickly hid his features again and collected the few items he'd left there that last time he trained. After that he left the clearing and forged his way, quickly through the forest.

A short while later he registered the fact that he was starving. _"Must… have… ramen…"_

His course thus changed, Naruto headed for Ichiraku.

When he dropped down onto the street that bordered his favorite place to eat… and for certain reasons he tried not to think of… only place to eat, there were already two people there. Naruto stepped forward and pulled aside the cloth drape only to see none other than Kakashi and Sasuke. He blinked in surprise.

 _"I've never seen those two eat here before. Then again it doesn't look like Kakashi is eating anything…"_

Kakashi glanced back cheerily. "Hey Naruto! I decided to take Sasuke out to dinner since I figured you would show up eventually!"

Naruto nodded wearily, unsure when his routines had become so well known. He hoped that he wasn't being observed. The number of times he'd spoken out loud to himself when talking with Kurama were numerous. He didn't like the thought of someone listening in… or worse, recognizing just who 'she' was. After a second of being unnerved he finally sat down and ordered the usual. Six bowls of their best miso ramen. Mean while he watched Kakashi with a calculating eye, though it probably came off as pissy teenager instead of suspicious.

Sasuke glanced sideways at him, his own look less than inviting. "Something wrong dobe?"

Naruto showed his teeth. "Nothing's wrong teme."

They sat for another three minutes while Sasuke ate and Naruto waited for his food. It was then that Kakashi broke the uneasy silence. "Well. I have good news… I have bad news… and I have news that could be taken either way."

Silence.

"Which do you two want to hear first?"

They thought about it for a moment and then replied at the exact same time. "Bad news." It gave them a sort of.. "twins" vibe that would have been really hot if they were identical twin sisters… However under these circumstances it just creeped the Jonin out. He sweat-dropped and looked between the two of them, deciding to get it over with.

"The bad news is that even though you both passed… we won't be taking any missions for an entire month."

Naruto and Sasuke had startlingly similar reactions. They both paused, then blinked. Naruto asked, "What?! Why don't we get any missions?!" Sasuke growled. "I knew it was too good to be true."

The Uchiha turned to Naruto. "That means they didn't pass Sakura, so we're stuck until they find a fourth squad member." He looked back to Kakashi. "Isn't that right?"

Kakashi nodded. "They were _very_ surprised at how successful you were. In fact several of my coworkers commented that they wished their squad was as naturally gifted. But at the same time the rest of them thought I was lying to make myself look better."

Sasuke muttered under his breath, eyeing the Jonin with slight distain. "Why would it make you look better? You're the one who almost got incinerated."

Naruto chuckled at that. "Yeah, you should have seen your face sensei. If it wasn't for your reflexes you'd be ash right now."

The older man didn't speak for a few moments while he considered the rather unnerving truth of that statement. _"It's almost unreal to me. That's the closest I've come to actually dying in quite a while and it was my own Genin test… I should be wary of giving them the opportunity to kill me from now on. It won't make me look very good if I'm mortally wounded by Genin, regardless of how talented they may be."_

He coughed. "Well… It makes me look better because having such high value students will give me more prestige. Basically your success will rub off onto my record." Kakashi gestured to them. "If you two become well known Shinobi then it will be a boon to my carrier since I was the one who trained you. Just look at the Hokage. His Genin team went on to become the three legendary Sannin."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Really!?" He thought back to the history lessons in the academy… "Wait… aren't two of them like rogue nins or something now?"

Sasuke glanced at Naruto. "You're right Naruto. I remember one of our lessons at academy. The one called Orochimaru was it? Wasn't he exiled from the village for illegal experimentation?"

"Actually he was… but let's not talk about him. It's an unpleasant topic. As I was saying earlier before I was interrupted, you won't be taking missions for at least a month. In that time I will be training both of you without having to bother with constant interruption. Since it's blatantly obvious that you have the skill I'll be showing you both the ropes on elemental chakra."

Sasuke smirked. "I take it while we are doing that you will be looking for a suitable Genin to fill in for Sakura?"

"That's exactly what's going on." Kakashi grinned. "I'm fairly sure whoever is picked will be able to keep up with you. I doubt the Hokage would force a less talented individual on our team after what happened to Sakura."

Naruto nodded absently as Ayame placed a steaming bowl of ramen in front of him. He suddenly found the conversation much less interesting. He grinned and snapped a pair of chopsticks apart before beginning to inhale his ramen at a frantic pace. Sasuke, surprised by the sudden burst of chakra scooted away from him, wary of the blond's pistoning elbows.

Ayame giggled at him. "Quite the sight isn't it. Almost seems like he has some sort of ramen absorption seal on him. Seeing how he can eat a solid fifteen bowls without being full."

The Uchiha's eyes bulged slightly and Kakashi commented dryly. "It's no wonder he never runs out of energy. That's enough calories for a week."

Sasuke demanded, "Is he trying to kill himself?!"

Naruto halted for a second, turning his head to Sasuke, "I'll have you know this is nothing! My record is twenty six bowls!" With that he returned to devouring his meal. In the back of the shop Ayame's father just chuckled. A few more years and he could retire; maybe hire someone to run the shop for him… Yeah… he could live of the fat of the land… or at least the inside of Naruto's wallet and that of his friends.

Hell! If the blond knucklehead lived long enough, he might even open up a few other branches. He could see it now. The "International Ichiraku Ramen Company".

 **Ooo**

For the better part of a half an hour, conversation was pointless. Naruto couldn't be bothered to include himself in anything so trivial as speech while there was still ramen to be consumed. So for that period of time Sasuke brooded and Kakashi made small talk with Ayame.

The young Uchiha watched Naruto carefully. There was something… off about the blond. And it was more than the fact that they had accomplished a nearly impossible task with only minor fore planning. It was something fundamental which he was only just noticing.

When Naruto had first come to his attention it had been back at academy. He was the only person he knew who felt the same pain as him, even if he couldn't say for sure what the reason was. Over time he'd formed the opinion that Naruto was a loser who sought attention as a means of covering up his insecurities and loneliness. But that observation was no longer valid. Naruto was a rough one to be sure, but he couldn't call Naruto dead last. As far as he was concerned Naruto was in second place right behind him.

And that was another thing. Going from bottom of the class to being a worthy rival to the head student required more than a little determination. Sasuke wondered if they would be close enough one day for Naruto to help him kill Itachi… Naruto of all people could understand his feelings. The hate for his brother was probably very similar to Naruto's hate for the village.

Sasuke smiled inwardly. Naruto would become strong and so would he.

Naruto finished his unholy consumption of ramen and pushed the stack of bowls aside with a contented grin. Kakashi was looking at said stack with a blatantly horrified expression. _"I know he said he could eat fifteen bowls and keep going…but he ACTUALLY ate twenty full size bowls of ramen!? He's worse than his parents!"_

The pile of dishes recalled a memory of Minato and Kushina sharing a bowl of ramen here once. It was like to wolves fighting over the last scrap of meat on a carcass. Neither of them would give ground to the other… and holy hell… the tab they could rack up. Minato once used Swift release just to prove a point, polishing off a solid seven bowls before Kushina could finish one. And that wasn't counting when Kushina was pregnant. It was as if she was eating for three. Her, the baby, and the Kyuubi along with it!

Kakashi was quite glad that they hadn't had two children. He would be broke in half a year… and Ichiraku would own the world.

He shook his head, dispelling the images of his childhood. Back when he was young and innocent. Before he knew the horror of Namikaze and Uzumaki eating habits. Sasuke and Naruto took notice of Kakashi's suddenly pale complexion. Then it seemed as if something dawned on The Uchiha… quickly followed by Naruto, who glanced between the stack of bowls, Ayame, and Kakashi.

Then in a burst of speed Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the back of the collar and bolted shouting, "Come on I got a great jutsu to show you!"

Kakashi stood to pursue them, but halted as something took hold of _his_ collar.

"Excuse me Kakashi-kun? There seems to be a misunderstanding here. Perhaps you would like to clear it up for me…?" Her honeyed sweet voice dredged up images of Inoichi and Shikaku after arguments at home, their battered faces and bruised bodies.

 _"Curse you Naruto!"_

"Why don't we discuss your _problem_ Kakashi-kun. I'm sure we can work on a _payment_ plan for you if you need it."

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

Sasuke gritted his teeth as his blond teammate at last let go of the back of his collar. _"Damn, he sure knows how to make tracks when his money is at stake. Almost makes me feel bad for Kakashi… almost."_ Sasuke patted himself down, getting rid of the dirt that clung to him. He looked around, trying to figure out where Naruto had dragged him off to.

They were standing in a clearing… surrounded by massive trees. It was deeply shadowed with only a few bars of light shining through to the ground, seeming like solid spears of gold. He twisted around. Naruto was walking to the other side of the clearing, pulling out kunai. He quickly made a mark on the tree and turned back.

"So Sasuke? What do you think of my training area? Pretty cool huh?!"

Sasuke had no clue where he was except that they were somewhere on the outskirts of the village. The forest around them was dark and he could hear _things_ growling and roaring in the distance. He shook his head. "Where is this dobe? I've never been here."

"Well duh! This is MY training ground. Never even seen anyone here. This here is training ground 44, the Forest of Death. Personally I don't really see what is so scary about the place, but oh well. At least no one comes and bothers me while I'm training. And the best part is that it's huge, so I can even get away from the villagers here!"

Sasuke gave Naruto an odd look. "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Um…" Naruto scratched the back of his head uneasily. "Forget I said anything. Anyway this is where I train. Just head in any direction for long enough and you'll come to the outer edge of the forest. It's only a couple miles wide with a big fence surrounding it."

Naruto frowned. "But make sure you keep clear of this place when the Chunin Exams and Jonin Exams start. They both use this place for their tests."

"Why? It doesn't seem very dangerous to me."

The blond grinned. "Yeah… because I'm here. Everything here avoids me like the plague. Don't ask me why, but I don't think that the huge spiders, giant snakes, dire bears, and everything else would object to eating you." Naruto gestured around him. "Then there's the man eating plants, and the fact that anything you try to eat is probably poisonous. I got really ill trying to hunt here not long ago…"

Sasuke asked, "So you're the _only_ person who uses this training ground?"

"Well, not ONLY, but I've only ever heard of one other person coming. That the crazy snake lady Anko."

"Crazy snake lady?"

Naruto nodded sagely. "She's like the scariest Jonin in the village. She used to be assigned to catch me when I pulled a really big prank, but she only caught me once! I heard that she's not welcome training with the other ninja so she comes here…or at least that's what they say. I've never seen her here."

Stretching, Naruto put his hands over his head. "I already trained before I talked with Kakashi sensei and you, but I needed to get the hell out of there before he made me pick up part of the tab. I figured I minds as well show you my training spot while I was at it."

There was a pause while Sasuke thought it over. "Why not train at my clan compound?"

Naruto cringed. "Uh… It's not that I wouldn't like to Sasuke… it's just that if anyone saw me training with you there would be a huge mess."

"Why?" Sasuke wasn't understanding what the deal was. It seemed every other sentence Naruto revealed some kind of secret that he wasn't supposed to talk about. He was constantly smoothing over his own words and pretending like it didn't matter. And what did he mean by a mess? Was he suggesting that they would get in trouble for training together? They were on the same team!

Naruto looked away. "I'm sure you know why Sasuke. You're smart. You see how everyone treats me, but you're the precious Uchiha. At best they'd think I was dragging you down. At worst…they'd try to get me kicked off the team."

"That's ridiculous. NO one is that stupid." _"Right? Even if there is something wrong with Naruto, the village wouldn't sabotage his ninja career just because they saw him training with me."_

A scowl crossed Naruto's face. "You saw how Sakura treats me. The whole village has been like that since I was kicked out of the orphanage."

Sasuke blinked. "K..kicked out?"

"Yeah. I was kicked out of the orphanage at five. In case you didn't know the Hokage gives me an allowance of sorts so I can survive. It would be enough but everyone charges me three times normal… if they sell to me at all. I couldn't even get an apartment for a year when I was thrown out. No one would let me rent anything. Spent half the year in the hospital after getting beat by drunks."

Naruto saw the look on Sasuke's face. "You probably think I should hate the village huh?"

The Uchiha's eyes flashed. "OF COURSE!? Why the hell haven't you left already!?"

He shrugged. "Where would I go? This is the only place I know. At least the old man tries to take care of me. Once I start getting stronger I can go on missions and make a name for myself. The village can't hate me forever. Eventually they'll start respecting me, for my power if nothing else. That's why I want to become Hokage." Naruto smirked. "At least most of the Shinobi don't hate me. I know most of the ninja don't like you. They think you're a stuck up arrogant emo asshole. So if you think about it we're both trying to get strong, just for different reasons. I want to be Hokage. You want to kill a certain someone."

Sasuke's lips twitched. "You know Naruto…. When you're not acting like an idiot you have a way with words."

"I know right! Now I'm getting depressed. Let's have a little spar so I can forget about the stupid village."

Sasuke nodded and dropped into a fighting stance. Naruto recognized it and dropped into his own. After a second they charged at each other.

 **Ooo**

 **-Sunagakure-**

 **Ooo**

Walking along the halls of the Kazekage's tower in the Village Hidden in the Sand, Baki knew he was in trouble. Big trouble. However this was something he thought he would have to get used to over the next few years… if he lived that long.

He closed his eyes briefly in resignation as he knocked at the entrance to the Kazekage's office. A few moments passed and he started to sweat. His liege didn't usually put him on the spot like this… and the four envoys from the Hidden sound behind him were casting suspicious looks in his direction. There were three that he couldn't care less about. It was the fourth who gave him pause.

A man with sliver white hair and sharp eyes, hidden behind round glasses. He was young, but moved with more experience and ease than many Jonin. Baki was instantly wary of him. No one in his position lived very long unless they were cautious. And the ninja from Oto set off every alarm in his head…. repeatedly.

A voice from within took his attention away from the Hidden Sound Shinobi. He quickly turned the handle and opened the doors to the inner office. Inside was a spartan room, circular in its design and centered around a large desk.

Sitting at said desk was a man, not quite of average height, his dark red hair almost too dark to be labeled as such. His pale skin had only been slightly tanned by the harsh desert sun and his eyes were as sharp as ever. This was the Kazekage. A man who lived his life in such a way as to make all fear and respect him. Although these days it was usually the former much more than the later.

The Kazekage glanced upwards, his gaze moving over his right hand man and the four guests. He straightened and asked, "So… You are the ones he sent? I don't see how this is supposed to help out plans in any way. Does your leader take me for a fool?"

The words were spoken calmly, but malice was laid thick upon them, showing that he was less than pleased. Orochimaru wanted to go to war… and he wanted the aid of Suna in that self-same war. Had this been against Iwa he would have applauded the idea. Perhaps even gone about the preparations with some eagerness.

But that was most certainly not the case. The leader of the newly formed Sound village wanted to move on Konoha, Suna's old allies. And while there was little love between the two great nations of late it was still an ill-advised idea. It would put a great strain on his resources. After all, with where they all lived, resources were a hard enough commodity to come by regardless. So he could reasonably he angry when the former Konoha nin sent only six of his ninja. Two were already staying in the village, supposedly waiting for a third member to arrive. And now a second team… of Genin? What was that man playing at? War required strong Shinobi. And thus far all he'd seen were part of a distraction and nothing more.

If Orochimaru thought that Suna would bear the great load of the war while Oto went on unscathed, he was wrong.

Standing off to one side now Baki saw the rapid fire flash of emotions cross his Kage's face. None of them pleasant. Eventually the group's leader deemed it appropriate to speak. Evidently where he came from you made sure that the boss was absolutely finished before saying anything.

It was the Silver haired young man who answered. "I assure you Kazekage-sama… Lord Orochimaru is not taking any chances. We are more than the distraction. I personally have the next batch of plans from him. I would ask that you read them over before dismissing my lord's plans out of hand."

Baki glanced between them as the Kazekage's eyes narrowed. The expression reminded him of nothing so much as a giant angry sand scorpion. "Who are you boy? And more importantly, are you under the impression that I am blind? I have been reading you master's "plans" for the last two months as he sends them to me piece-meal. Allow me to say this. I will not continue to be fed information one bite at a time."

The Kazekage's lips twitched in a manner that Baki knew well. It signaled when the man had reached the end of his patience. Then again, realistically he never had much to begin with.

He said, almost apologetically, "All plans for war with Konoha _will_ be put on hold until your lord sees fit to supply me with the information I desire. If you cannot show me concrete proof that Oto is ready to go into a serious war then I will be visiting Konoha with a viable means to re-solidify our fractured alliance."

"That would be most unwise Kazekage-sama. Lord Orochimaru would not take such a betrayal lightly an…"

"QUIET!" Baki watched as the Kazkage stood, his anger radiating out in a wave. "You have no authority here boy! And I have absolutely no reason to trust or support Orochimaru in this matter. You are not the lesser of two evils. This alliance with Oto is fragile to say the least. Remember the fact that your village hasn't even existed for ten years. Not even five! When you have eighty years of experience and know how things work you can return and tell me what is wise!"

He narrowed his eyes. "I have not forgotten that Orochimaru betrayed his own village in a vain quest for immortality. At this point the Tsuchikage has more credibility than you, and I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw the great wall!"

Kabuto visibly withered under the basilisk gaze of Suna's leader. "I… apologize for any insult I may have done to you… As an apolo…"

"You may leave. I have nothing more to say to you until my demands have been met. If I have received no answer from you master in the next month, Konoha will learn of your plans and I will wage war on Oto instead."

Baki nodded ever so slightly. He would have agreed with that plan to begin with. After all they were bargaining from the position of strength. Oto was practically a rouge village at this point, so there really wasn't anything they could say against the Kazekage or Suna for rejecting him… or giving such a harsh ultimatum.

Kabuto bowed once and nodded to his men. They quickly left the office.

Once they were gone Baki turned to his lord. "It has seemed that they fully intend on leading us around on a leash. What are your orders Kazekage-sama?"

His master frowned. "In the past two months what little faith I had in them has evaporated, as a drop of water upon this tower's roof. Send two teams of Jonin to the location of the Oto agents stationed here. Kill one. Bring the other in for questioning…."

He paused as if considering it. "Have the one known as Kabuto killed, but teach him a lesson first. Take the other three hostage. I don't think that they will have any use as such, but we can send them to Konoha."

"May I ask why?"

"Indeed. I have wanted to bring Suna and Konoha back together for some time now. Ever since the incident six years ago with Iwa I have been feeling pressured by our northern neighbor. The Leaf village houses the Yamanaka clan, who are more than skilled enough to extract crucial information from the four captured Oto nin. They would serve as a good will gesture."

Baki furrowed his own brow. "Are you thinking that it would be wise to ally with Konoha before Iwa attempts anything on us? They are nearly recovered from their last war and could make an attempt on our village while it's weakened."

The Kazekage stippled his fingers. "That is exactly what I am thinking. Onoki will not rest idle for long. And… I heard a rumor that I would like to find proof of in Konoha. Hopefully our new alliance will prove to be more lasting than the last."

Baki blinked, but didn't ask about the rumor… He had business to attend to after all.

 **Ooo**

 **-Somewhere outside of Kiri-**

 **Ooo**

A blast of fire tore it's way though the wall of the stone cavern, eating up all the oxygen in the small corridor. A second later Mei Terumi dashed out weaving handseals… singlehanded. Her other was busy launching shuriken at a lone girl.

Her opponent was proving to be extremely hard to put down, having what Mei considered to be the largest collection of evasive techniques she'd ever encountered. So far the bespectacled redhead had managed to escape no less that twelve potentially fatal jutsu, three traps, and four Taijutsu exchanges. Mei had to give it to her, she had unbelievable stamina.

 _"Lava Release: Cauterizing Rain!"_ She exhaled and sent dozens of marble sized globs of lava towards her. The redhead eyes went wide as she flung herself to the side, her own hands running through an earth jutsu that Mei recognized. _"Damn! She's getting away again!"_

Her opponent sank into the wall beside her and into the next room. Mei hissed in irritation and lashed out at the wall, smashing through the stone which had already been weakened by a previous exchange. Dust flew in her eyes, blinding her for a moment as she caught her balance on the other side of the wall.

Instinctively she deflected several kunai that were tossed her way. _"Shit!"_ Mei leapt back out of the hole, crossing both arms over her face as the explosive kunai detonated. She landed and was immediately accosted by her right hand man Ao.

"Lady Turmei! Would you like me to apprehend her?"

Mei frowned, "Do you think I cannot do it?! I will deal with the girl. She is obviously an Uzumaki. We will take her alive!"

"Yes my Lady." Ao disappeared back into the chaos of the underground complex. Mei reentered the room, quickly bringing her hands together in a wind jutsu. The dust was whipped away, revealing the girl trying to complete her own chain of handseals. Mei dashed forward. She wasn't willing to take a chance on it being something unknown to her. She didn't recognize the sequence so she couldn't allow her to complete the jutsu!

Karin was a split second from releasing a powerful electrical shock into the woman in front of her, when a she felt a kunai bit deeply in her shoulder. She cringed and finished her jutsu. _"Lightning Dragon Jutsu!"_

Mei dropped flat to the ground as the massive influx of lightning chakra blasted right over to her head, annihilating the rest of the room and blasting the hallway to rubble. Then she was up again and holding the redhead's hands with one of hers. "You're done girl."

THWACK!

Mei hefted her fellow redhead over her shoulder and exited the room. She needed to make sure the rest of her men were doing their jobs. Not many of Orochimaru's henchmen were left alive here, but there were many supplies that had been left behind. The Rebellion was going to take advantage of that… without a doubt.

 _"It's fortunate that we found this place, though we can only afford to stay here so long. I don't fancy fighting with one of the three Sannin on his home turf… We must be gone before he returns. Maybe I can get his plans from this girl… She seems like she was the leader of this particular branch…"_

Only time would tell. They had a rebellion to win after all.

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

 **And there is the end of this chapter. I hope you like it. As for the introduction of a certain redhead I will be doing the same periodically and for longer stretches. I'll continue it for Gaara as well!**

 **And remember to review. Don't forget criticism is needed always!**


	4. Chapter 3

**(Updated: 6/24/18)**

 **OK! I'm back!**

 **So yes, Ryuuzetsu will be included in the harem, but don't expect her for a while. Her involvement comes much later after I start smashing the canon events into little itty bitty pieces.**

 **And to Facebreaker17 yes she is included. Actually already had her planned out, but I was pleasantly surprised to see you suggest adding her. She's such an undervalued character.**

 **To Swift Australian Winds, An explanation, I suppose, is in order. Sorry this is arriving a chapter late.**

 **Naruto is receiving direct training from Kurama almost every night, including when he is training alone. As I showed she is showing him jutsu (that she knows from her previous host's memories) General knowledge, politics and just about everything she can. And yes, he is using shadow clones to great extent. As for him letting his new power go to his head…. Yes Kurama is keeping him from becoming drunk on his power, but she is also making sure he improves at a rapid pace because of the potential danger his is in every moment of the day and night.**

 **(No I** _ **STILL**_ **don't own any part of Naruto)**

 _ **Chapter 3**_

 _ **Ooo**_

 _ **Ooo**_

Anko Mitarashi reflected that there were many interesting things in this world that she would never see, however there was one sight she was privileged to see. What was it? Well, she'd been heading though the forest of death to her usual training spot, but due to a rather annoying incident she'd made a detour to come through the west side of the forest.

And she'd stumbled upon a little clearing not unlike her own. It was a bit larger and it was… empty?

Except that it had plenty of _stuff_ in it. Off to one side of the hard packed dirt were a few makeshift training dummies and targets which had been nailed up the sides of the huge trees. By one tree there were two well worn packs and a low table. On the table were two metal lunch boxes.

Anko had been frowning dangerously by that time. How dare someone come into HER territory and train? This was her area, where she sharpened her skills. She wouldn't let some idiot come in and set up camp without giving him a piece of her mind (as painfully as possible).

But then the unexpected happened. She heard an explosion on the other side of the area. Her gaze was drawn to a boy, bond haired and blue eyed, spinning backwards through the air to land in the middle of the clearing. Right after him came another with black hair and dark eyes.

She immediately knew who they were. Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. Any thoughts of revenge flew out the window as she realized that two _Genin_ were training in the Forest of Death. And not just any Genin, but two unsupervised Genin who hadn't gone on a single mission yet.

She smirked at the audacity of it. There were some Chunin who were afraid of this place, but those two were here training. That wasn't the end of it either. The fact that the brooding Emo King of Konoha Academy with the best scores since his older brother many years before was fighting Naruto Uzumaki, the self proclaimed Prankster King and future Hokage, with historically low Academy scores was… astounding.

Not to mention exceedingly unexpected.

She grinned and settled down to watch, wondering just how good the two of them were. After all, she'd heard Kakashi talking about them. It would be interesting to see if they were all they were chalked up to be.

 **Ooo**

Sasuke dashed forward, twisting at the last moment to avoid Naruto's snap kick. He'd learned to avoid taking hits from the blond. His blows were just a bit too powerful to be shrugged off. Naruto lunged forward and leapt in the air, turning a half spin and bringing his foot around in a roundhouse. Sasuke ducked and rolled to avoid the line of shuriken Naruto threw in front of him.

Naruto landed and tried to grab his arm. He barely deflected it in time and was forced backwards again. A second attempt to ensnare his arm was successful and Naruto pulled him into the way of his raised knee.

Sasuke grimaced, and turned his body to the side, punching Naruto in the side of the head with his free hand. Naruto didn't even seem fazed by the hit and sent a fist into the crook of Sasuke's elbow, drawing a grunt of pain from the Uchiha.

They separated for a moment, but Naruto didn't give him a chance to rest. He clapped his hands together sending a blast of wind at him. _"Shit!"_ Sasuke leaned backwards, narrowly dodging the compressed wind attack. It was only a D-rank jutsu without handsigns but Naruto could do it in a split second and it would still knock him sprawling with a direct hit. And he couldn't use any Ninjutsu on command like Naruto to counter.

Sasuke regained his balance a second before Naruto was on him again, his strikes coming in at all angles. Beating him back Naruto took the chance to hook his leg with his foot, sending Sasuke to his back. Sasuke kicked Naruto's legs out from under him as he went down.

Both of them were up again, but this time Sasuke managed to keep on the offensive for almost five minutes. Naruto struggled to keep up with the Uchiha's crippling strikes, aimed for his chest and arms for the most part. He took several hits before he got the upper hand, cracking his palm into Sasuke's throat. The Uchiha stumbled back, holding his hand to his windpipe and struggling to breath.

Naruto took the opportunity to get out of range and gather his chakra for a Ninjutsu. He wove seven handsigns, and inhaled. _"Wind Release: Wind Spear Jutsu"_ The air in front of Naruto rippled as the low powered wind spear sheared through the space between them. He could do it full power, but it would certainly kill Sasuke if he did that.

The jutsu impacted Sasuke's chest and sent him hurtling back, his fall broken by one of the trees. Sasuke slumped down the tree uninjured, but completely exhausted. Naruto abandoned his combat stance and ran over to his downed opponent.

Sasuke looked up, wiping a dribble of blood from the side of his mouth. "Nice move Dobe.. I keep forgetting how much chakra you have."

"Sorry Sasuke, but you can't beat me with Ninjutsu. Anyway…you're drooling blood. Did I damage anything inside with that last attack?"

Chuckling Sasuke shook his head. "Nah, but almost bit a hole in my cheek just now. You're luck when it comes to catching me at bad times is ridiculous."

"Not my fault! I've always been lucky!" Naruto paused for a moment. It was true that he had impossibly uncanny luck when it came to… almost everything. He just figured it was karma paying him back for how shitty his life had been so far. So? What did it matter? But now that he thought about it from Sasuke's perspective, it probably felt a bit unfair. So far out of a dozen fights, he'd managed to "luck out" at least twenty times and his Uchiha teammate was beginning to get exasperated.

He wondered how his luck would hold up against a more formidable opponent. If he could take down Sasuke on luck alone, how about a Chunin… Or even hurt a Jonin… He didn't know and luck wasn't a skill he could train… At least he didn't think it was.

Naruto shrugged mentally at his own ramblings and offered Sasuke a hand. The Uchiha grunted and accepted help getting up. His pride was one thing that he left at home in these fights. To put it simply… when he was prideful Naruto tended to have almost unnerving streaks of "pseudo" miracles. For instance the time he'd challenged the blond to a kunai throwing exercise. He'd wanted to prove to Naruto just who was best. He'd thrown his kunai and managed a near bull's eye. Naruto threw his….missed the targets center completely, ricocheted off the tree and hit a bull's eye on the target… across the clearing.

The blond required several minutes to come down from his "awesomeness" induced high.

And then there was when he'd laughed at Naruto's pathetic chakra control. Which in comparison to his own, really was terrible. Naruto had shouted at the top of his lungs that he would prove him wrong. Sasuke challenged him to use the tree climbing exercise.

Somehow…. Naruto had done it on his first try… and damn near perfectly. Since then Sasuke had felt like Naruto was one of those people who it was best not to limit. The more ceilings you put between Naruto and the sky…the faster he broke through them. He just tried to keep up. It was an odd experience for him, knowing that someone was ahead of you…and that you probably would never reach their level. His _brother_ Itachi was his goal. But that was a life goal, something he would strive for throughout his career as a ninja.

It disturbed him that he didn't think he'd never be able to surpass Naruto.

"I think I'm done for the day Naruto. I'll see you around." Sasuke headed to the small table to collect his pack before leaving the clearing.

Naruto called out, "Try not to get eaten on the way home!"

Sasuke didn't answer as he left the clearing, leaving Naruto alone… or relatively so.

Naruto waited a few moments till he was sure that Sasuke was gone. Then he let out a long sigh. He thought that he might be on the verge of befriending him… but there was still something off about Sasuke, as though he was hesitant to form any kind of bond with anyone. Student or teacher.

But then again… Maybe three days was too short a time for any kind of friendship to form? He'd give it time. Since they were on the same team they'd have plenty of it.

Naruto sighed in relief as he let the henge hiding his features drop. With a mild groan of pleasure as his fox ears returned. When they were henged it felt like someone had taped them to the side of his head. Extremely uncomfortable.

But now that they were free he had some measure of relief. Along with his improved hearing came a very slight increase in his sense of smell, something Kurama had worked out for him the day before. But as she said _"Don't get cocky. There are plenty of ninja who can mask their smell. And it's the one's you don't sense that kills you."_

Over all he felt much better than even when he'd started sparring with Sasuke. Naruto dropped down at the small table at the base of the tree. A second later he had a brush and ink in front of him, along with a small blank scroll. Naruto's smile became a frown of concentration as he dipped the brush and put it to the blank parchment, brushing out the signature symbols that were the basis for all Fuinjutsu.

Fuinjutsu, as Kurama pointed out, was the most diverse of all the ninja arts. And by a very wide margin. To hear her tell it… If every different seal was a jutsu then there were more Fuinjutsu than Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu combined. That was… amazing. Naruto honestly had been stuck for words. That something could cover such a massive amount of material and still be considered a single branch of jutsu was somewhat scary. Kurama sympathized with him. After all sealing was the cause of their current predicament.

If it wasn't for Fuinjutsu, then there would be no way to keep the Biju contained. And if that was the case then his mother would never have been sent to the leaf village to become the next Jinchuriki and he would never have been born. So in a round a bout way, he felt as though he owed his life to Fuinjutsu and he was determined to master it…

However there was a serious problem that needed to be worked out first….

His hand writing was… unrecognizable. Even back at academy his terrible penmanship had been somewhat of a legend. How Iruka was able to decipher what minds as well have been archaic ruins was anyone's guess. Naruto's was that Iruka possessed calligraphy skills only marginally higher than himself… which explained why Kiba was always getting in trouble for lying about his grades. He didn't realize that when Iruka wrote an F, it sometimes looked like a really sloppy A.

But that was beside the point. He needed to be able to write neatly before he ever attempted the most basic Fuinjutsu. Kurama mentioned the possible removal of fingers, hands, arms, etc… Such threats were not idle and kept him on track.

He worked for a short while on his handwriting before abandoning it. After all it would be a long time before he had the chakra control and the calligraphy skills to do even rudimentary seals. For now Kurama wanted him to focus most of his attention on his Ninjutsu training. He was just fine with that.

Putting away his tools, Naruto stood and returned to the center of the training area. He stretched and popped his neck before bringing his hands together in his favorite jutsu. The clearing exploded with white smoke, which took a few moments to dissipate. When it did there were fifty clones standing ready for action.

Naruto shouted, "Alright! Two groups of twenty-five! First group works on Wind Release and second group works on the Lightning chakra control exercise!"

The clones swiftly divided, one moving out into the forest surrounding them while the other stayed in place, sitting cross legged on the ground. It wasn't more than a minute before the sound of utter chaos was heard off in the forest, his clones practicing every Wind jutsu he knew. Naruto glanced around the clearing as an uneasy feeling crawled up his spine. He frowned again and lifted his head to scent the air.

Nothing. But his keen ears registered an ever so slight squeak… like sandal rubber on tree bark. He whipped around and made several handseals. " _Wind Release: Concussive blast!"_ The air in front of him hiccupped as he flung his fist in the general area of the sound he heard. The space in between him and his target compressed with the massive surge of chakra, blasting forward into one of the trees that bordered the clearing.

An ear splitting crack sounded as his attack ripped into the huge tree. At the same time it tore a smaller branch off, sending it back into the dark forest and out of sight. He didn't see anything move and he still couldn't smell anything but he heard it again. A high pitched squeak. He realized now that someone had watched him… his ears…his claws…his eyes.

This was NOT good.

 _"Oh… shit. Someone saw. And they didn't just run in the opposite direction. Does that mean they aren't afraid of me or something?"_ Naruto growled in the back of his throat. Someone… a Shinobi… was here and he or she knew his secret now. He couldn't afford to let them get away without knowing who it was and what they intended. _"But if it's a Jonin then I'm in deep trouble. I might be able to catch a Jonin, seeing how I can escape one, but getting one to talk after seeing me like this could be hard."_

Naruto racked his brains for a solution and… had an epiphany.

"HEY ANKO! I KNOW YOU'RE THERE! COME OUT ALREADY!" He shouted his challenge, hoping that she would respond. If she didn't he was sunk. Anko knew this place as good as he did. He couldn't catch her on her home turf.

"I'm surprised to figured out it was me brat." Naruto looked to the side as a young woman dropped out of the trees. She was of average height with dark purple hair done up in a spiky ponytail. He knew this interesting hairstyle had given rise to one of her many nicknames. "The Purple Pineapple". In addition to her unique hair she also dressed rather differently from most Kunoichi, Anko was currently wearing a skin tight body net under a loose tan trench coat which was open. She was practically flashing everyone just walking around.

Besides that she wore a very short tight shorts/skirt. Naruto couldn't tell what they really were, but they had lots of pockets that seemed to be stuffed with any number of things. Revealing as they were the fact that they were orange meant she couldn't be all that bad.

He finished the visual inspection and met her eyes.

Anko's cocky grin and causal (read erotic) stance shifted uneasily. Naruto knew he was in trouble. He'd seen that look before, the disbelieving stare. He scowled, waiting for her expression to change… shift to anger and hatred. She'd be just like the villagers were.

Anko blinked. "Uh… love the ears and claws but those are some _freaky_ eyes kid." Her tone was slightly wary but to his shock no anger or hate colored her expression or voice.

"You aren't afraid of me?"

She tilted her head as a sorrowful look etched itself into her face. "Should I gaki?"

"Depends…."

Anko shifted again, their eyes staying locked. "On whether I go tell Lord Hokage?"

He nodded.

"Do you think you can kill me? Cause if you aren't damn sure about it, I'd suggest that you give up."

Naruto frowned and examined her closer. He figured her for a mid to long range fighter. Kunoichi generally didn't like to engage in close combat too often. But she was a Jonin. There wasn't much hope to match his natural skill against pure experience. _"And there's no way of knowing if my huge chakra reserves mean anything… I don't think I really have a chance to win against her. Maybe if I used my hidden abilities and I had the drop on her… but not like this."_

He relaxed his posture slightly, "I can't beat you… not without making things even worse." Naruto's ears drooped a bit, "I wish I could stop you from telling Gramps, but… It's your job. I can't be angry with you for that."

The purple haired Jonin looked even more surprised at this assessment. "Well brat, you're right about fighting me. I'd tear you apart in seconds, but you're wrong about it being my job to report you to the Hokage."

"Huh?" He didn't quite believe what he was hearing. "Could…could you say that again?"

Anko rolled her eyes. "You heard me Gaki. It's my job to protect the village and obey the Hokage. Make no mistake twerp. If you ever become a threat to the village I'll gut you and then hogtie you with your own intestines before I drop you in Lord Hokage's office." She held up one finger. "BUT… I don't think you are a threat. Crazy red eyes or not."

Naruto's crimson orbs burned holes in her as he mulled over her words. "So… you aren't going to report me…. But you aren't going to kill me either?"

"I get it! You're paranoid." Anko sighed and rubbed the back of her neck trying to seem more relaxed. "Listen, I know you probably think that I'm trying to trick you or something but I'm not. To be perfectly honest you have a harder time with the village than me. I won't make your life harder when it doesn't have to be."

Naruto thought, _"She can't be serious… Is she actually letting me go? Even though it's obvious that I've been changed by the Kyuubi's power…"_ He didn't know there were people in the Leaf village who were sympathetic to him. Kakashi was alright, but he was his sensei. The old man was nice too, but he'd think that he was tainted by his demonic power. All his life he struggled to find someone who wouldn't judge him. That was true even before he found out _why_ he was hated so profoundly.

He asked slowly, "Why…? Everyone hates me. Only Kakashi sensei, Jiji, and Sasuke don't treat me like a demon. How come you don't hate me?"

"Because…" Anko sighed. "I'm just like you. I might not have a demon inside me, but most of the village hates me because of something I didn't do and couldn't control. My old sensei went rogue and hurt many of the villagers and Shinobi. The village couldn't take their anger out on him so they turned their anger on me. It's the same as you and the fox."

Naruto nodded once, unconsciously scratching behind one ear. "You're not worried at all?" He didn't believe that at all. Anyone would be scared shitless of a kid who contained the Kyuubi if he started to _look_ like the fox. Not that he regretted having Kurama change him. Whether people were aftraid of it or not, his fox form was bad-ass. His claws made for a natural Taijutsu weapon. His ears made him much harder to sneak up on as they provided him with better hearing and allowed for swiveling. And his eyes would unnerve even the strongest Shinobi… once he was older anyway.

He hadn't actually been thinking about that when he asked for them. At the time he thought it was amazing that he could make himself look like her. But now he could recognize the combat advantage they bestowed.

Anko seemed to sense the turn of his thoughts because she smiled. "Gaki…. You aren't the sneaky type. Sure you can give an ANBU a run for his money, but it isn't your nature. If you wanted to get back at the village… really do some damage, you'd have done it already. And as far as I'm concerned you look pretty cute with the ears and all."

There was a few moments of silence as Naruto again thought her words over. Then a bright smile lit his face. "Anko-san… could I ask a favor?"

"Hn? What kind of favor besides not telling anyone about this?"

"I… I need someone who can teach me… something special. But I don't think it would be a good idea to ask Kakashi sensei."

She blinked. "Uh… You're not serious are you?"

Naruto nodded quickly.

"Right. Well… I'm kind of the last person you would want to explain this sort of thing to you… but okay! Let's see how much brain damage I can cause!" She stepped forward rubbing her hands together in an evil sort of way.

Naruto went pale and waived his hands frantically, "NO! Not that! Actual training! I think Kakashi would be guaranteed to tell Jiji about my power!"

"Power?" She stopped and dropped her hands. "What power do you have that needs training that you won't ask Kakashi-sempai about?"

He sighed and closed his eyes for a second. Kurama was speaking to him, having woken up for the last part of the exchange. _**"Are you sure about this?"**_

 _"Yes, she's like the only one in the village who is treated like me. She won't stab me in the back and she already said that she won't go running to the Hokage."_

 _ **"I can't sense any ill intent from her…. So… fine. Go ahead, but remember to be much more careful next time. If someone less… sympathetic finds out you will be in deep trouble. And you aren't strong enough to get out of it even with my help."**_

 _"Thanks Kurama."_

 _ **"Don't mention it kit."**_

Naruto opened his eyes and glanced up at Anko. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I… I have a blood line that I haven't told anyone about."

Anko's eyes widened. "Really!? That's awesome gaki. Hardly anyone in Konoha has bloodlines besides the Uchiha and Hyuuga. Wait… are those eyes of your actually a sign of the bloodline?"

He shook his head. "Er… No. That was the Kyuubi. But my blood line is really rare so I didn't want to tell Kakashi. He would tell Jiji and I just know it would get leaked somehow. Then I'd have to worry about being kidnapped or something."

"Kidnapping eh? Never thought you were smart enough to grasp village politics so well. So… what does this bloodline do? Seeing how I doubt you know the name."

Naruto shook his head once more. "It is a Kekkei tota, Plasma release."

Anko's jaw… _dropped_. "K…k..kekk..ei…to…tota….?"

"Yeah."

She gulped. " _Holy…shit…._ How the hell do you know you have it!?"

Naruto glanced away from her muttering, "The Kyuubi told me…"

Anko missed his answer as she stepped forward, "Okay Gaki. Forget I said anything. There is no way I'm letting this get away from me. Plasma release? Really? I've never even heard of that before! But if it's a Kekkei tota you can't go around training on your own!" She grinned and planted her hand on top of his head. "Tell you what, whenever I'm not on a mission I'll come by and help you train." She giggled. "I can hear it now. Anko Mitarashi, the woman who trained Naruto Uzumaki how to use his Kekkei tota… Ah, now that would be one hell of a way to make a name for myself."

"You're as bad as Kakashi sensei, trying to get my fame to rub off on him."

Anko scratched behind his ears as she bent down. "You got that right Gaki. I'm going to get a ton of credit for training a bad-ass Shinobi in the hidden leaf. But don't think you won't be more famous for it. Who do you think is more well known? The Yondaime Hokage or Jiraiya of the Sannin?"

"Who's Jiraiya of the Sanin?"

"Exactly. No one knows who that guy is unless they've met him or happen to be old enough to have been in the last great war. For your information he's like fifty and he's still an S-rank Shinobi. That's what you call being a professional." Anko removed her hand and replaced both of them on her hips. "So tell me Naruto. What exactly is the elemental nature of Plasma release? I've never actually heard of it."

Naruto finally forced himself to relax. Anko was on his side it looked like so he could tell her all about it. "It's made up of Wind, Lighting, and Fire all at the same time in equal amounts."

Anko whistled. "Fuck… that is totally overpowered. One thing is for sure; if you didn't have that furry inside your gut you'd have one hell of a time mastering it. I'm not completely certain, but I seem to remember that Bloodline abilities generally require a crap ton of chakra to use. But luckily for you Gaki, I'm pretty good at teaching!" Her smile became noticeably feral. "So show me what you can do."

He backed away a step. "Um… Anko-san? Are you sure you want to spar right now?"

"Nope! I want you to try your damndest to kill me so I know what level you're at! Come at me fox boy!"

Naruto continued to look at her for a moment, mulling it over. Then he nodded and brought his hands together. "Shadow Clone jutsu!"

Anko waited as the smoke cleared to show twenty clones, all starting to circle her. "Now this is more like it Gaki. Come on!"

 **Ooo**

 **-One week later-**

 **Ooo**

A long sigh escaped the Sandaime Hokage as he sat in his comfortable office chair. He was getting too old for all this… Way too old. If he didn't find a suitable successor soon he was going to have to create some memory restoring jutsu. And Naruto was still a little on the green side. Maybe in ten years he'd mellow out enough to take the burden from him…

But currently it was just a pipe dream.

The elder Sarutobi stared at his desk, on which hunched the most foul, horrid, putrescent beast he'd ever encountered. It could not be slain, only weakened. And it was constantly growing. If it became too large it was bound to cause problems. For instance… not being able to see the five people standing behind the huge creature.

Hiruzen stood in order to see over the white wall of paperwork. His gaze took in the varied expressions. Sorrow, boredom, gratitude, hunger, pity. "I take it there is a reason why you have a foreign Kunoichi with you Asuma."

Asuma Sarutobi, Hiruzen's son nodded and gestured to a girl… probably fourteen years old. She was tall for her age with a well proportioned body that spoke to serious training… unlike the blond girl next to her who looked to be suffering from early onset starvation.

The Sandaime looked into her startlingly green eyes. Those eyes reminded him of Naruto's in their intensity… not to mention their vibrant color. Green as opposed to blue. Her deep emerald eyes were complimented by fair skin and a long fall of ebony hair. Her bangs were trimmed over her eyes and framed either side of her face in a classic hime style cut.

Her forehead was covered by a headband, the design upon it resembled a circle with a star inside it, lines running from the corners of the star to touch the inside of the circle. Hiruzen recognized it immediately, having visited the village once in his early years. It was called Nadeshiko village and it was populated almost exclusively by Kunoichi. Seventy-five percent of the inhabitants were female. This had made it a rather popular destination for strong male Shinobi over the years… mainly because of a strange custom they had.

As it went, any man from an opposing village who beat one of their Kunoichi in a fair fight had to marry that girl. It had been a kind of vindictive sport for many years. Shinobi going to Nadeshiko village to "collect" their wives. This stopped after a few years when the Kunoichi from the village developed a reputation for crippling their opponents in the most painful of ways. Half a hundred castrations later hardly any men visited the village at all.

So why was there a young Kunoichi from their village here? Hiruzen was snapped out of his thoughts by his son's words.

"We were heading back from our mission when we saw a plume of smoke on the horizon. My squad and I decided to go check it out. When we got there we found a village burned to the ground. Every man woman and child was slaughtered. Except for this one. She apparently survived by hiding in the village leader's basement. She was wandering the ruins when we found her."

Hiruzen was greatly saddened by the news. This felt all too similar to the pain he felt when the Uzumaki clan was destroyed. And now the only survivor was this young girl. _"So she's similar to Naruto in more than one way… I understand why she'd here then Asuma took pity and brought her to live here at the Leaf… Kami knows it's better than Kumo or Iwa taking her."_

"What is your name young one?"

She didn't look away but her eyebrows furrowed. "My name is Shizuka…. My.. my mother was the leader of the village…"

Ino gasped. "Hey! That name is totally accurate! You did say a word the whole way here!"

Shikamaru groaned. "Ino… stop bothering her. The only reason she was quiet is because you wouldn't stop talking the _whole way here_."

"Don't talk to me like that you slacker!" Ino shouted while pointing accusingly at the self admitted laziest ninja alive.

Standing on the other side of Asuma, Choji Akamichi, the last member of Squad 10 said, "At least Shikamaru admits that he's lazy…. And you do talk a lot Ino."

"Choji…." Ino growled menacingly.

"Tsk….troublesome."

Asuma sighed in an exasperated sort of way. It matched Hiruzen's perfectly. "Will you three stop that for now. The Hokage wishes to speak with Shizuka." He eyed them annoyed. "As a matter of fact, why don't you three head to the training grounds right now. I'll be there as soon as I'm done here."

Ino groaned. "But sensei… We just got back from a really … _long_ … mission. Can't we have the rest of the day off?"

He shook his head. "If you keep that attitude you'll never be the best Kunoichi in the village like you keep saying you want to be."

"But I'm the best Kunoichi in my year already… I'm on track to be on top you know!"

Shikamaru scratched the side of his chin saying, "Wrong Ino. You might be top Kunoichi in your year, but we only recently graduated from academy. If you think about it all the Kunoichi for this year were _below_ the half way mark in class. Which means that the boys in the very middle of the grade are all more skilled then the best Kunoichi in the whole year. And all three of us have been slacking since we have our clan techniques. Student's like Naruto who don't have those to fall back on are going to be way ahead of us at this rate."

Ino laughed. "Naruto?! You've got to be kidding me! He was total dead last in class. How could he beat any of us? Even Choji could pound him into the dirt!" She flipped her hair behind her head as if that was that. When she saw Shikamaru's expression she paused. "Uh…. Choji? You could pound Naruto into the ground right?"

Choji shifted uneasily. "Um… Shikamaru told me that his dad said Naruto beat a Chunin… I'm barely a Genin. I don't think I could do it."

Shikamaru nodded in agreement. Ino's eyes were wide with shock, "No way…."

Behind her Asuma spoke severely. "You should _never_ underestimate others Ino. Regardless of who they are or what they act like. I'll have you know that after the special Jonin test that each of the Sqaud commanders gave Naruto took second place, just below Sasuke Uchiha."

That shocked even Shikamaru. Choji blanched. "He's as good as Sasuke? Was he pretending to be weak the whole time?"

A somewhat bored voice came from the open window causing all heads to turn in that direction. "Hello…. Hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Hiruzen shook his head. "No, we were actually just discussing your student, Naruto. Would you mind enlightening his former class mates Kakashi?"

Kakashi wasn't even looking at them as they spoke. In one hand was a small orange book in which his nose was well and truly buried. A second later it dropped to reveal the masked face of a certain Jonin. His classic eye-smile in place. "Ah… you wanted to know about Konoha's #1 most unpredictable knucklehead ninja prodigy? I suppose I could let a few hints drop…"

Half the room sweat-dropped at the prodigy part.

He closed his book with a snap and replaced it in his back pouch. "Let's see…. Naruto started off as the very bottom of his class, Ds or straight Fs in anything remotely resembling academics. A corpse had better chakra control. He knew a grand total of….four jutsu, excluding his pranking techniques…."

"Hm…what else…? Oh, despite all of that, he single handedly painted all four of the great stone faces in broad daylight with neon pink and blue paint… while wearing a bright orange jumpsuit. And didn't get caught. _Then_ he was able to evade half the off duty Chunin in the village… and two Jonin… for several hours."

Kakashi sighed as if remembering good times. "Now…? Now he is just as skilled if not better than Sasuke Uchiha, who is hailed as the most promising ninja since his older brother Itachi who is currently a SS- rank Shinobi. His academics are marginally better. He could probably scrape by with a C. He has fairly decent chakra control considering he has bigger chakra reserves than I do. I've counted twenty-three jutsu so far, fifteen of which just seemed to magically pop up when he sparred."

"In addition to that he's already finished level one of Wind manipulation. As far as stealth goes… he could probably keep ahead of half the Jonin in the village if it was a life and death situation." Kakashi was highly amused by the shocked faces of the Genin… and even Asuma, who's cigarette had taken another tumble. Even Hiruzen seemed surprised by his words.

However one person didn't seem too impressed. Kakashi's eye fell on a girl, thirteen or fourteen years old, with green eyes and long black hair. He absently noticed the Nadeshiko headband as he took in her appearance. She was very fit for a girl her age, with well developed muscles and excellent posture. Not like Sakura or the other girls whose skill sets seemed to revolve around making themselves look attractive. And there was a certain challenging gleam in her eye that he recognized.

Then she said, "He doesn't sound all that impressive to me. I could do all that in my own village, plus I had straight As in school. And… I have perfect chakra control."

Everyone's eyes snapped back to her with enough force to pop out of their sockets. Choji, with a potato chip halfway to his mouth almost lost an eye as he jammed the piece of junk food in his own face.

Asuma asked amazed. "You have jonin level reserves, level one mastery of Wind release, and over twenty jutsu?!"

She shook her head. "I don't have Jonin level charka reserves. NO Genin does. I assume that he must have genetically low reserve if his student has more chakra than him. But yes. I have more than twenty jutsu and I have mastered the first step in controlling wind chakra."

Kakashi's eye-smile dropped as he realized he'd been underestimated...again.

Hiruzen stroked his beard. "Very impressive Shizuka, but you seem to misunderstand. Naruto is somewhat special in that regard. He has so much chakra that he can't even perform Genjutsu or the standard clone jutsu."

Kakashi tilted his head. "Shizuka huh? Quiet… I like it." He hesitated before continuing. "But you see miss, the reason this is incredible isn't because of what he can do. It's because he hasn't had a single teacher showing him how to do it until about two weeks ago." Kakashi stepped out of the window and into the room. "Plus there's the part where he can train for six hours straight and barely break a sweat. It's a bit disturbing sometimes."

The room was silent for a moment. Then Ino shrieked. "I'M BEING LEFT IN THE DUST!?" Shikamaru and Choji both choked in unison as Ino grabbed them by their respective collars and proceeded to drag them out of the room. Asuma watched them as Shikamaru frantically attempted to break her grip.

"Wai…-gag-..Ino.. Stop! …..you're –gasp- choking us…!"

Choji, with his protective layer of f**, was less affected by the impromptu strangling. He grunted, "Don't bother Shikamaru. You know how she is when she gets like this…. Better to tough it out."

"Ea..-choke-..sy… for…-gurgle- you to…say….."

The three adults and Shizuka watched as they disappeared out the office door. After a few moments passed before Shizuka muttered. "That was… pathetic."

Kakashi nodded in agreement but Asuma grumbled. "You're awfully chatty now. Have you gotten over the death of your village already?" Asuma didn't disapprove, but it had only been a couple days since they left the sacked settlement and it was unnatural for a girl her age to move on so quickly. It was either a false passing on or she was just that cold.

She looked back at him with piercing green eyes. "I've mourned long enough. My mother taught me to accept what I can't change and change what I can't accept. I can't change the fact that…" She looked down. "…that my home is gone, but I can find the bastards who did it." An angry glint entered her eyes. "I'll get strong and go back to kill the ones who destroyed my home. That's a promise… and I never give up."

Asuma frowned but mentally agreed with her. He stepped forward and placed a scroll on Hiruzen's desk. "This is our full mission report." He glanced at Shizuka. "I'll leave this one with you. Now I need to go catch my student's before Ino has a chance to finish suffocating the Nara heir."

Hiruzen chuckled lightly. "I have no doubt Shikaku would find it most… troublesome… to have to produce another one."

With that Asuma nodded as disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Kakashi turned to Hiruzen. "Anyway…. Now that we're passed that I was wondering if you'd found anyone to fill the last spot on our team. If I don't get someone on soon, then Naruto and Sasuke are going to have to relearn how to team fight. The way those two mesh on the training field is almost frightening. It's like they're thinking the same thing half the time. If Sasuke was more talkative they'd be finishing each other's sentences."

The Jonin recalled a certain very unsettling incident where they'd actually done that. I was almost enough to raise the hair on the back of his neck.

Hiruzen for his part stroked his bear again, a self satisfied gleam in his eyes. "Hm….. well actually, I do have one person in mid."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Do you think she's ready? After all she is brand new."

"If she's to be believed then she is quite skilled for her age."

Standing between then Shizuka had lost her serious expression and was looking between the two men. "Excuse me? Have you forgotten about me?!"

Hiruzen shook his head amused. "Of course not. We're actually talking about you right now."

Shizuka turned around to look him in the eye. "What do you mean? Are you saying you want me to join Konoha? As a Genin?"

"If you don't mind. You would be a part of Squad 7, which I might add is already the most promising Genin team in Konoha. You'll or course be Konoha nin, but you will still retain you're status as the princess of Nadeshiko village. You might even make some friends who would be willing to help avenge your home and family."

The young Kunoichi glanced back at Kakashi. "You would… actually want me on your team?"

Kakashi shrugged. "You seem competent and level headed. Honestly I need someone who isn't a hot head. Naruto and Sasuke get along better than I anticipated, but they tend to build off each other and that causes problems when I'm teaching them. Plus they're both lone wolves when it comes to training."

She thought about it for a minute. "Fine… I'll join your team, but you better not favorite them over me." Her green eyes seemed to fill with a malevolent glow. "Cause if you do I will make your life a living hell. I'll make you 'knucklehead student' seem like a tame puppy."

Kakashi and Hiruzen shivered…. mentally of course. It wouldn't due to be seen shivering at the words of a fourteen year old girl.

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

Naruto groaned lowly as he slid slowly into his nice _freezing cold_ bath. He was sore… sore as he thought it was impossible to be. And it was all because of his insistence on learning Fire style from Anko. Kurama had explained to him that he needed to master more of the Wind style before moving on, but… he'd been too stubborn.

 _"Should have listened to Kurama… Damn, I feel like someone beat me half to death and then threw me off a cliff."_ A momentary image of him falling off an actual cliff came to mind while an unfamiliar voice shouting, "GOOD LUCK!" rang in his ears. He shivered, both from the cold water and the strange flash of… _something_.

Naruto let his head fall back against the rim of the tub as he recalled Anko's method for teaching him how to control fire. Like all her lessons, they were devious, efficient, and downright cruel. For instance the first one involved her heating metal shenbon with fire chakra and then throwing them at him. If they hit then they hurt like a bitch and she would punish him.

If he dodged them it would still hurt because he _wasn't_ that fast and _couldn't_ actually dodge the superheated projectiles. The purpose was for him to grab the shenbon out of the air as they flew and quickly drain the Fire chakra from them, leaving them bearable to hold.

He'd been encouraged to try and reheat them and return fire, but he wasn't that good yet. After all she wasn't about to give him time to heat the metal needles and launch them off. No way in hell.

Of course Kurama was nice enough to heal him, but still…. It was aggravating and painful. After his first training session with Anko six days ago, he'd quickly found out that Anko was…. different. Kakashi would have probably described her as an _S_. What that meant for him was simple. Anko took every advantage of his Jinchuriki durability and pain tolerance every chance she could.

The second exercise she'd commanded him to do was to hold a metal bowl full of water. And then use Fire chakra to heat the water to the boiling point, causing it to evaporate. However, his control of Fire chakra was still pathetic and almost every time he managed to burn his hands. About twenty minutes ago, back at training area 44, he'd at last managed to boil one entire bowl dry without burning the crap out himself. Anko had been so pleased that she gave him a jutsu to master.

"Fire Release: Fire Ball."

It was a low Chunin level technique as far as skill went. Maybe even high Genin, but normally the chakra requirements were too high for Genin to use it. He however didn't have that rather unfortunate problem. Chakra as it were, was something he had in spades, diamonds, hearts, clubs... Everything really.

If he had horrible control. If his academics were the worst in the village. If he was dumb as a bloody door nail. If he had any problem in the world what so ever or any disability to become a ninja… there would be one thing he'd always have….

An absolute shit ton of chakra. Anko herself had told him that and from her it was high praise.

Naruto wondered what horrifying torture she would devise for him when they moved on to Lightning Release. Probably holding on to a weather vane while lightning stuck it and trying to funnel it into a light bulb. _"Okay… no need to jinx myself just yet. I don't want to be subconsciously giving her any ideas."_ He sighed as he allowed trace amount of Fire chakra to leak out of him and into the water. After a few moments he stopped. Steam was starting to waft off the water's surface. _"And it all pays off right about now….. Hot bath at home for the first time in… ever."_

He sighed again, closing his eyes…

…and jumped as he heard a loud knocking at his door. Naruto grumbled and got out of the bath. He hurriedly wrapped a towel around himself and moved out of the bathroom and to the door. Naruto wondered who it could possibly be. No one came to see him… except maybe Sasuke when he felt like getting in some heavy sparring at the Forest of Death.

As the door opened it occurred to Naruto that it might be Anko, coming to inflict some new torture or even Kakashi with news of a possible fourth team member.

What he saw instead of them was a girl. Immediately he was caught by her green eyes. _"Wow… she's beautiful…"_ The deep green of her eyes went well with her coal black hair and flawless skin. Naruto noticed that she was ever so slightly taller than him. Then again most people were these days.

He found himself unable to talk for a moment even as she examined him.

 **Ooo**

Shizuka sighed in relief as the door opened… and she came face to face with a spiky haired blond boy about her own age. He had tanned skin and the deepest blue eyes she'd ever seen. On each cheek were three black marks that looked oddly like whiskers. She paused. He was naked save for a large towel wrapped around his waist and held with one hand. Without realizing it she found herself sizing him up.

He had a slim build, although he seemed unnaturally muscular for his age. His torso and arms were especially well defined for a what? Thirteen, fourteen years? As a matter of fact he had quite a few scars. It clicked in her head. This boy was a Shinobi… Shizuka absently reached out with her small sensory ability to sense his chakra levels.

Her eyes shot open wide.

She felt like a drop of water falling into a deep dark lake. She'd never sensed so much chakra before, not even in the Jonin from her village! And he stood there looking at her like absolutely nothing was wrong. And his chakra felt… warm, hot even. As though his blood was made of liquid lava…

"Um… hi?" He waved a hand in front of her face, startling her out of her trance.

"H..hello. My name is Shizuka… I just rented the apartment next to you."

The blond blinked once. "Really? Must be pretty desperate."

"Hey! I'm not desperate! It's just that no one in this stupid village will take my money! I've tried everywhere else…" She tapered off near the end as she saw his expression change to anger. Then as soon as she saw it, it was gone.

"Oh well, don't worry about it. You'll get used to it." He extended a hand. "I'm Naruto by the way. Naruto Uzumaki."

Her eyes went wide again as she hesitantly shook his hand. His grip was strong without being crushing. Her mother had told her about the Uzumaki clan. Supposedly the second largest clan in the Shinobi world at one time. Their single clan had made up an entire village _by its self_. They were supposed to have crimson hair, purple eyes, and brutal personalities, not to mention chakra that could whip a Biju into submission.

And there was one of their supposedly vanquished clan right here. His eyes weren't purple and his hair certainly wasn't red, but that chakra… Unless it was a huge coincidence then that chakra must have been from his heritage. She couldn't help but feel a bit awed by him. She wondered how strong he was. Could he be a Chunin? Or maybe even a Jonin. It wasn't unheard of in the old days to have Jonin as young as fourteen, which to her was shocking enough.

She shook her head once and smiled back. "Nice to meet you then… Naruto."

Something clicked as they drew back. "Wait! Are you part of Squad 7 with Kakashi Hatake?!" Inwardly she screamed, _"HE'S A GENIN?!"_

He tilted his head. "Um… yeah. Has Kakashi sensei been running his mouth about me again? I swear I'm going to prank him one of these days. He's forgotten what it feels like to fear the Prankster King of Konoha. I haven't even done anything really fun since I mastered shadow clones…" Naruto went dreamy eyed. "I can barely imagine how complex my new pranks are going to be."

Shizuka watched nervously as he muttered something under his breath. She caught "chili powder" "marshmallows" and "shenbon" before his head snapped back up. "Anyway… why did you want to know?"

"Well, I'm going to be on your team." _"This might have been a really bad idea…"_

He blinked and looked her up and down again.

Naruto thought to himself, _"Okay… so she looks like she can handle herself. I can tell she has a ton more chakra than Sakura and she stands like a Kunoichi, not a model. Then again Anko never stands like a Kunoichi unless she's in the middle of a battle. So I guess she's just more serious about her skills."_

He surreptitiously sniffed the air, testing for her scent. She smelled great. Sakura had always smelled like strawberries. As much as he'd liked Sakura at one time he never cared for strawberries. Shizuka on the other hand… Her scent was sweet but had a bite to it. Slightly minty too, but that could have been perfume. Over all she smelled like peppermint, but stronger, most likely due to his enhanced sense of smell.

Over all he couldn't find anything to complain about. At a glance she was competent, nice, was very pretty, and smelled amazing. Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously.

Shizuka watched him, getting the sense that he was evaluating her. She stood straighter, not wanting to be underestimated because of a slouch. Besides…. she had a strong feeling that Naruto's opinion mattered. She didn't know why… she just did.

After a few more second Naruto nodded once and his grin returned. "Welcome to the team then. Hope we can be friends!" He scratched at one cheek. She saw his finger catch on his cheek marks.

 _"So those are scars or something? No… maybe some birthmark or clan mark…"_

Naruto asked, "So… what did you want? Seeing how you didn't know I was on Squad 7 you must have wanted something…"

"Oh, right! I was going to ask if you had hot water or not. I don't have anything but freezing cold."

She saw Naruto slump. "Uh… yeah, sorry about that. This place hasn't had hot water for years." His expression soured. "Normally I'd just make up something about the hot water heater being broken, but it's actually because of me."

"What do you mean by that?"

"The Landlord… well, he really _really_ doesn't like me. It's not that I've pranked him or anything, but he tried to make things as hard as he can for me. There's never been hot water and the air conditioning has never worked. He always charges me triple the highest rent in the village." He smiled sadly. "I'm used to it… sorry you're stuck with the same stuff as me."

Shizuka frowned. "Why would the Landlord hate you so much?" It disturbed her greatly to hear him talk about it like it was routine. Was he forced to live here for some strange reason? The Hokage and Kakashi gave him a damn near _glowing_ review. How could he be treated so badly?"

Naruto flinched. "I… Sorry, I can't say. I know we're going to be teammates. It's just that I'm not allowed to tell you." He looked down. "It's not only the landlord though. It's the whole village. He just one of the few guys who can do anything about it."

"That's… so unfair…"

"I know…"

She saw Naruto's face brighten for a moment. "Wait just a second. I'll be right back."

Shizuka blinked as he disappeared back into his room. A second later he came back out dressed in black pants and a white shirt with a red swirl on the back. Naruto grabbed her wrist and pulled her along.

"Hey! Wait a sec!?"

He ignored her, dragging her into her own apartment with him. Her mind raced along trying to figure out what he was up to. She found out quickly enough as he brought her into her own bathroom where a very cold bath had been run already.

He let go of her hand and moved to the bath.

"What are you up to?" She was curious about what the blond had in mind.

Naruto knelt down and pushed both his hands under the surface of the water. Shizuka was about to speak when she felt him drawing on his chakra. Only a moment passed until she saw steam starting to wisp away from the water's surface.

"How…?"

He stood back up, his skin drying already. "Fire Release. I just pushed Fire chakra out into the water and heated it up." He smiled easily again, his previous depression seeming to be forgotten.

"That's… amazing… I never thought of that." Something occurred to her, "Wait! You can use Fire Release too? But you already have wind style!"

Naruto stilled and nodded. "Uh… yeah. Please don't tell Kakashi sensei or Sasuke. It's a secret."

She raised her eyebrow in question. "Why?"

"I um… It isn't that I wouldn't like to tell them, but I can't. If I did it would end up causing me a lot of problems. I already have enough now." He looked back at her uncomfortable. "Would you mind not telling anyone about it?"

Shizuka thought about it. "I guess I can keep your secret. You did heat my bath up after all… and you said you already have it hard here."

"Then…"

"But. If we're out on a mission and one of us is in trouble you better throw that caution to the wind and fight with everything you have. Got it?"

"Yeah. I got it. I'll never put the safety of my friends over keeping my abilities secret. You don't have to worry about that… I never go back on my word."

Shizuka smirked. "Good… now would you mind leaving Naruto? I was getting ready for a bath."

His cheeks went pink and he stood quickly. "Right! I'll see you tomorrow then. Oh! And by the way, whatever Kakashi told you he always shows up at least two hours late."

She blinked as Naruto left the bathroom. A short moment later she heard the door close followed by another knock as his closed as well. Shizuka looked back to her steaming bath. _"Well, no point wasting a nice hot bath like this."_ She pulled off her dark shirt and shorts, followed by her panties. Then she slipped into the bath.

 _"Oh…this is nice… He really knows how to make a good first impression. I'll have to talk to that asshole of a landlord. Although… it would be nice if I could get him to talk about the village and how things work around here. If he came in every now and then to heat a bath for me is would be great."_ Shizuka leaned back with a slight moan. It was good to relax after such a hard week. _"Maybe those two were right. Some real friends would be nice."_ She giggled to herself thinking about it. _"If I was back at the village I'd have already challenged him to a dual."_

She paused asking herself out loud, "Do my village's traditions still apply? I am the princess…"

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

 **You may be asking yourself…. Is this a lead in to a quick romance between Shizuka and Naruto? You may ask yourself, is she already smitten with our blond hero. You may even question why she didn't challenge him to a dual right off the bat.**

 **Your questions will not be answered. (unless you try begging and pleading with me via PMing me. I am weak to flattery!) However! If you wait till the next chapter you will know!... or maybe not. You never can tell with me.**

 **Remember to review!**


	5. Chapter 4

**(Updated: 6/24/18)**

 **And I'm back everyone! Please forgive the lateness of the update. I have excuses… but I hardly think anyone wants to hear them. For now let me say that I am terribly.. terrlibly sorry. (not really)**

 **Anyway, onto reviews.**

 **Velshard** **: yes please! If I do something facepalm worthy please inform me! I've rewritten two or three stories because no one told me about something idiotic that I failed to notice when I wrote the early chapters! First Onikage being a good example.**

 **By the way, if anyone has saved a copy of my old First Onikage story, would they mind sending me a copy? I've misplaced the microchip with the old chapters for it so I've been having to rewrite them from scratch.**

 **Raikaguken** **: Hm… Fuu eh? I'm not sure. I've already got two stories in which she will be paired with Naruto as a main girl. I don't really want to add he just because. I know she isn't a common pairing, but because of the plot of this fanfic she just isn't plausible. I'd be going well out of my way to add her. Maybe she could be a romantic interest much later on… but keep in mind… much later on.**

 **Duke drake** **: Yes, I wanted to try a story in which Sasuke isn't an irredeemable scumbag hell bent on destroying the world in his insane quest to kill his older brother and one-up Naruto. I though it would be cool. Besides… most of the other stories I'd read (all be it accidentally) which had Sasuke as a good guy… were Yoai. Not that I have any real problem with it… I just… you know…** _ **do**_ **.**

 **Mrenteria99** **: Well the thing is, Naruto will learn Sage mode… later on… but as for Jiraiya, well you'll just have to see. Hinata sized crush on Naruto for Shizuka though… I think I can do that.**

 **Now… disclaimer time! (Even now… sitting here in an overheated car at a coffee shop… I still don't own any part of Naruto… DARN IT!)**

 _ **Chapter 4**_

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

The next morning Naruto woke up with a purring groan. For the first time in a long time he'd slept both without Kurama's aid and without nightmares. It was so good to be able to rest without dreaming of… bad things. He honestly didn't have many happy memories to replace the nightmares.

Maybe he could start working on those?

He quickly sat up, noticing that he was fully an hour early. Naruto smirked to himself, realizing he would have four hours before meeting Kakashi. Seeing how it was an hour before he usually woke up and three hours before the cyclops would show up at training ground 7. Not that he was complaining. He had a few things he wanted to take care of before he started training for the day. And the first?

To have _another_ nice warm bath.

A minute or so later the water was heated and he was slipping in. He absently let his henge drop to allow for maximum comfort. His ears twitched and a contented smile curled his lips as he leaned back in the tub. His mind lazed around for a while before he at last got around to thinking about today's schedule.

For today he had four things he wanted to do.

First he wanted to head over to the ninja weapon shop. He'd been saving for quite a while and his check from the Hokage finally came… so he was going to spend it on something worthwhile. Three swords. One might have questioned why he was going to get three. The reason was simple. He was getting the third one for Sasuke. Sure the Uchiha could probably afford to buy his own, but he thought it would be a good thank you gift. After all he could honestly say Sasuke was his closest friend at the moment… brooding emo and all.

He wanted the swords for their combat value too, but the main thought in his mind was his raven haired partner. Sasuke was coming out of his shell more in these last few days. He spoke more frequently, if sarcastically. He didn't make such scathing comments to him, although neither of them gave up calling each other names. And last of all Sasuke had actually gone to the trouble to introduce him to his Jonin observer, a man named Kotoharu.

Naruto hadn't even known Sasuke had an observer, but it turned out Kotoharu was a leftover from the Isuni clan. The clan once served the Uchiha but were practically wiped out during the last Great War. Of course Kotoharu didn't work for the Hokage as anything other than a normal Jonin.

In other words he was almost like Sasuke's attendant… when he wasn't out on missions. Naruto thought it was cool to have someone watching over him, but idly wished he had his own observer. Then he realized he did, in the form of a three hundred foot tall fox composed entirely of violent chakra. (though she usually took the form of a beautiful young woman these days…)

Anyway… the second thing he wanted to do was pull a prank he'd been planning for ages, yet never had the right timing to accomplish. Everything was ready now. He'd set things off after he got his swords purchased. Hehehe….

The third item of the day, and the last thing before he went to training ground 7, was to show Shizuka around. After all she was going to be on their team, or so she said. The least he could do was give her the rundown on the village.

After that was training with Kakashi and likely sparring with Shizuka or retaking the bell test. In that case it would be to see how well all three worked as a team. Secretly he was excited at the prospect of almost killing his sensei again…

What?! He couldn't help it if Kurama was rubbing off on him!

Besides, it would be great to have a full team of people he liked and who at least respected him. Now couldn't that be a little dream come true?

After Kakashi finished training them for the day he'd go to the Forest of Death with Sasuke. They'd train for a while, presuming the Uchiha didn't have something better to do. Then he'd train on his own unless Anko showed up. By now he was getting pretty good with Wind manipulation. Kurama told him that he was ready to start on the second level of Wind manipulation, but that they didn't have a nearby waterfall… so he'd have to practice on boulders or trees. Oh… he couldn't wait to see Anko's or Sasuke's faces when they saw one of the massive trees cut in half!

It would be so worth the effort. Not to mention… how many Genin ever mastered the second level of Wind manipulation? He was betting the answer was probably under ten. Anyone with that skill was probably already a Chunin or even _Jonin_.

He'd been working with Lightning as well… and oh how he loved it. Sure it shocked the living hell out of him every time he messed up, but the jutsu it made looked so awesome. Not like wind where it was usually invisible. Lighting was one of those elements that was never really intended for stealth. Not that he had _any_ problem with stealth. He just liked big flashy jutsu.

Fire was moving along alright, though not as fast as he would have liked. It turned out that drawing on Fire chakra was very similar to drawing on Wind chakra. The problem was in how it was handled afterwards. And he still didn't have his control anywhere near good enough to use that jutsu Kakashi had flung at them once. (he'd made learning that jutsu one of his goals) But it was decent enough to actually use fire style jutsu without hurting himself.

The thirty clones he'd once made to practice the Fireball jutsu had the time of their lives taking on a giant bear they tracked down. That was for sure.

Naruto grinned to himself as he imagined all the jutsu he could make for his Kekkei Tota. Looking up Fuinjutsu had made him aware of the sheer variety of jutsu in general. Hell, there was a jutsu that could harden a blade of grass into a tiny steel razor! There were jutsu that made plants grow and ones that could… bring the dead to life. Naruto imagined that if there was a jutsu that could resurrect the dead, there were hundreds of jutsu for his Kekkei Tota…

He just had to make them up.

To that end Kurama was teaching him the theory of ninshu… or whatever she called it. Basically she was showing him what handseals did what and why. He rarely understood all of the spiritual stuff she added in so the fox woman usually ended up giving him straight physical facts and leaving the rest out.

It really helped… sort of. He'd made one jutsu so far. He considered it a D-rank, but Kurama insisted that it was A-rank if he used the correct amount of chakra in the right circumstance. He called it Wind Style: Air Step. Basically he used the tree climbing exercise but with Wind chakra. He sent it out the soles of his feet in a compressed blast. The effect was that it launched him away from whatever he was standing on. Or if he was in the air already it would blast anything in that direction away.

However… his best jutsu of all time had to be the Wind Style, Decapitating Wind Blade. Man it was awesome when you just clapped your hands together and a wind shear cut a tree almost in half! He wanted so bad to go out on a C-rank mission or something and fight another ninja in a real battle. It made his blood pump just thinking about it.

-RING- RING-

Naruto sighed. Looked like he'd have to hurry if he wanted to pull his prank. He spent too long basking in his warm bath already.

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

Kakashi blinked away sleep with a slight start as a colossal boom echoed in his ears. He sat up, frowning and wide awake. A sudden chill was creeping up his spine as a premonition alerted him to unpleasant things ahead. For some reason… and he couldn't understand why…. His gut told him it had something to do with a certain resident blond.

"Wonder what he did this time?"

He sighed and slipped out of bed. He was already thirty minutes passed his usual wake up time.

A small smile slipped across his face. At the very least he was keeping in character.

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

It was complete chaos as Shizuka walked through the village about an hour later. Genin and Chunin, Jonin, and even ANBU were racing around the village like chickens with their heads cut off. Some were screaming, while more than a few just sobbed in corners.

Yes… the Village hidden in the Leaves was plunged deep into the middle of a prank war.

Details were scarce but from what she could tell it was between two rival factions; the King's Foxes and the Prince's Monkeys. The turf war had caught the entire Shinobi residential area and merchant quarter in its crossfire.

Shizuka looked around with wide eyes as academy student dressed in an orange bed sheet launched past her, throwing smoke bombs and strange tags in his wake. She blinked and whirled, sending a blast of air to knock the smoke bombs out of her area. Inadvertently these smacked into the head of a blond woman walking on the other side of the street. They exploded on impact, filling half the street with dark purple smoke. Shizuka winced and started into a run, dodging around a short boy with brown hair and a blue cape.

She suddenly had to duck as a battle cry was shouted overhead, heralding a volley of… marshmallows?

Yes there were… Shizuka felt something suddenly sticking to her side. She looked down and saw a tag of some sort. Panicking she tore it off and began sprinting down the street heading for the front gates of the village. She felt that the only safe place could be training ground 7 where she was supposed to meet Kakashi later. This village was a war zone… and she needed to get out of the line of fire.

Behind her she could plainly hear the screams. One last time she glanced back, just in time to see a Jonin dragged to the ground under a pile of… cats? Yes… Lots and lots of ravenous _cats_. He seemed to be coated in marshmallows and some kind of brown flakes. And even as she watched she saw a large black one, its yellow eyes flickering with a hellish light, leap onto the Jonin's head and start chewing his ear off.

She paled and put on a boost of speed before she was caught in the crossfire.

Ten minutes later she broke through the tree cover onto the training area she'd been told to go to. It was fairly large, surrounded by trees with a small river going through one side of it. Across the way was also a cliff that rose just out of the trees alongside the river. She sighed and leaned down, resting her hands on her knees. She was a bit tired from her mad dash through the village.

For a while she swore she was being pursued by a group of clones… as the four boys trying to pelt her with smoke bombs and who knew what all looked identical.

"Shit… what the hell was that?" She mutter to herself and finally stood up straight.

The first thing she saw, about fifty feet from her, was a blond boy who she recognized at Naruto and he was fighting… _himself_?

A lot of himself. As in like thirty copies of himself at the same time. It was simply astounding to see his skills of evasion if nothing else. He certainly didn't have the ability to fight back much with his clones flinging everything from shuriken and kunai to the odd wind jutsu at him.

He was overwhelmed by his clones… and yet he was slowly but surely narrowing them down to nothing.

She watched as he ducked under a swipe of a sword only to jump back over a wave of shuriken. The clone who had just slashed for him actually managed to defect a few of the shuriken up at him as he was dispersed. Naruto spun as he leapt into the air, using his own blade to turn away those projectiles that would have hit him.

His movements looked well practiced if strained. Her eyes tracked his twin swords as they were flung from his hands in either direction. The clones that were in the way jumped back just in time but that wasn't the end of it. Shizuka saw Naruto's stance change. He flung his feet out to either side, twisting them at an awkward angle.

Suddenly a blast of wind was emitted from the sole of each foot, completely halting his momentum. In the next instant he was spinning rapidly in the other direction. Shizuka realized a second before they followed that his swords were connected to his hands by ninja wire. The two swords cut through the air in a wide circle, shearing through at least eight clones… leaving a little more than twenty.

Shizuka was amazed at the maneuver, which certainly didn't look like anything any Genin or Chunin would do. As far as she could tell it was one of those moves that only tactical geniuses could pull off without making fools of themselves. Either that or getting killed.

A second later Naruto apparently decided the odds had been evened enough to fight back. He landed and followed his maneuver up with a line of shuriken into the nearest three clones. They blocked all of them, but were unable to survive the nearly invisible blade of wind that sheared them in half.

Naruto ducked to the side to avoid the cut of anther clone's blade. He used the momentum to throw a kunai into said clone's face, killing it instantly. But this also left nothing between him and the clones that had been keeping their distance. Naruto had to perform a little acrobatic dance to avoid being skewered by the dozens of shuriken and kunai that were launched his way.

A moment later the projectiles stopped. The blond original took the few seconds of breathing room to weave through handseals rapidly and sent a compressed wind bullet into one of the more lazy copies.

Then the tables turned. All the remaining clones went on a full offensive, rushing the original in a mad maelstrom of fists and legs. Naruto was suddenly getting beaten to a bloody pulp as he couldn't get even a head-but in edgewise.

Or at least that's what she thought was happening. A split second later Naruto burst into a blur of movement, moving at speeds that rivaled and almost surpassed Chunin level. He jabbed out, crunching through the throat of the clone on his left. In the same movement his left knee caught the clone in front of him, dispersing it.

A katana blade aimed at the back of his head was dodged and the wielder found himself impaled on a kunai. Naruto lunged, taking hold of two copies. He brutally smashed their heads together, turning them into clouds of smoke. As they popped he leaned backwards out of the way of a punch which, had it landed, would have surely knocked him on his ass.

It was amazing just how aware of the battle around him he was. She couldn't imagine being able to fight 30 to 1 odds even if she knew every weakness her enemy had. Hell! Thirty Genin could overwhelm a Jonin if they worked well together. In the world of ninja numbers sometimes counted for nothing. But in others they decided the outcome of the battle. Seeing Naruto able to handle these odds, clones or not, was exciting. To think that she'd been put on a squad where her teammate was this good! Not to mention that her Sensei was Kakashi of the Sharingan.

"Wind Style: Directional Razor!"

Shizuka's eyes widened as Naruto's hand swung out to either side of him, a circle of chakra forming around him and then… sharpening, cutting all of the remaining clones. With a simultaneous cry they exploded into a ring of smoke around the lightly sweating blond.

"What was _that?!"_

Naruto turned, noticing her for the first time. He also remembered that he'd been planning on showing her around the village as a welcome gesture. Oh well… he could do it after training if she wanted. Naruto hummed as he pulled his damn hair back. It was even more unruly than usual after his exercise. Speaking of which, Shizuka was staring at him with a dumbfounded expression that made her look… cute. A grin pulled at his lips and he waved at her. "Oi, Shizuka-chan! Come on over!"

She seemed hesitate for a brief moment. Then she walked over, glancing about the training area. Her voice came out as almost awed. "Wow Naruto.. You really did a number on this place. And what was that technique?"

Naruto blinked and then realized exactly what she was talking about. "Oh that? It's one of my better wind jutsu. I don't really have the control to use it in battle since it takes so many handseals. So I usually just pump enough of my chakra into it that it works anyway. Sasuke thinks it's a waste of chakra (and he wasn't the only one) but chakra is something I don't have problems with ya know?"

"But forcing a jutsu through sheer amount of chakra… isn't that dangerous?"

"Only if you don't have enough chakra." He shrugged. "I have more chakra than a couple strong Jonin… or so people keep telling me."

"Yeah, Kakashi-san told me as much. Supposedly he's a Ninjutsu specialist, a Jonin, and yet you still have a lot more chakra than he does." She frowned, still slightly wary of a Genin with that much chakra. "How can you have so much chakra anyway? I've heard of the Uzumaki clan from my mother… but it seems a bit much for a Genin…"

Naruto blinked, frowning for a brief moment before his grin reappeared. "It's not something I should really tell you right now. I only found out about it a little while ago. Don't worry about it for now. It's something I was born with."

"That's not much info…"

"No it isn't, but I'm not supposed to tell you." Naruto scratched his cheek thoughtfully. "Maybe if we get in a life or death situation and it looks like we're toast you'll find out about it. Or you could ask Kakashi-sensei, but I don't think he would tell you."

Shizuka crossed her arms. "Well fine. You still haven't told me about that jutsu you used."

"Oh! You heard what it's called right? Well I created it myself. It's based off of the Decapitating Wind Blade technique, but it hits everything at head level around you instead of just what is in front of you. It actually took a me a long time to get the handseals right… but its usable now. Once I get my chakra control up to a level where I can use it without handseals at full strength… then you'll see just how awesome a jutsu it is!"

"You actually created your own jutsu?" She as shocked to say the least. Creating jutsu was usually part of the test to become a Jonin. During the exam to be promoted you had to submit a new jutsu to the examiner, something of your own creation… which was then graded on its use, efficiency, and power.

Something like what Naruto created wouldn't get him a promotion, but Shinobi usually didn't start to experiment with jutsu creation until they'd been Chunin for a while. And Naruto had just been made a Genin!

Naruto coughed politely. "Well not _really_. I just modified a jutsu that was already out there. I don't have a good enough grasp on jutsu theory to create completely new jutsu. I just extended the range to surround me entirely. It only added four handseals to the original jutsu. I'm also trying to create a Wind jutsu that works like this jutsu Sasuke knows. He can't do it yet because it takes too much chakra, but by the time he does master it I'll have my own version!" Naruto grinned. "Once I'm a Chunin I'll have a ton of jutsu in my arsenal!"

"How many jutsu do you know?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "I'd say about forty. Most of them are C-rank or D-rank though. I only have two B-rank wind jutsu."

"B…B-rank?!" She almost shireked. "How do you know such high level jutsu as a Genin?! Who taught you them?!"

One finger rose to Naruto's lips. "Shush… I have my ways…."

"At least show one to me if you're not going to tell me _how_ you got them." Shizuka hissed.

Naruto raised one eyebrow, his tone imperious. "And what are you gonna give me if I show you one of my _best_ jutsu?"

"Why would you charge me?! I'm your new teammate!"

"Don't know… maybe I'm just being unreasonable…" Naruto grinned. "So Shizuka? Do I get something for sharing my super awesome B-rank jutsu?"

She scowled. "I have an A-rank wind jutsu… but I'm a long way from having the control to use it. There wouldn't be any point to teaching it to you. With your massive reserves it might be years before you could use it."

"Aw… that's no fair Shizuka-chan… Oh well. My technique is something else I came up with on my own. It's basically a combination of the Great Breakthrough technique and the Wind Bullet technique."

"Um… exactly how does that work?"

Naruto turned to the side, gesturing to the trees opposite them. "See those trees? Well this is the normal Great Breakthrough." He stilled for a moment and then brought his hands together in a harsh clap. A wave of compressed air exploded from them and was further magnified by his chakra, turning it into a massively overpowered wind gust. The trees themselves didn't move, but their branches were blown back or simply ripped off. Naruto smiled and then made half a dozen handseals and made the exact same move.

The result this time was very different. Not only were the leaves and branches ripped away, but head sized wind bullets crashed through the forest like cannon balls fired at high velocity. They reduced the trees to splinters on impact and gouged great trenches in the earth. What was left behind in the wake of the technique was a little piece of complete devastation.

In the back of Naruto's mind he imagined that the only thing missing were a few little patches of unquenchable black flames. Yeah… that would be a nice touch wouldn't it?

(Somewhere in the land of Rain a dark haired man sneezed explosively and went back to chastising his oversized blue friend for his most recent killing spree.)

Shizuka blinked in amazement. "That was amazing… and you just combined two techniques to do _that?!"_

"Not exactly. I also put a lot of chakra into it. If you did the same thing it wouldn't do nearly as much damage just because I have way more chakra than you." Naruto sighed as if having colossal amounts of chakra was a burden in life that he just had to put up with. But after a moment he perked up. "Anyway, the other B-rank I know is the Wind Dragon technique… except that the regular version is a bit wimpy. It's basically just a Great Breakthrough with added chakra shape manipulation. My Wind Dragon is basically made out of wind blades."

"That sounds vastly overpowered for a B-rank."

"And it would be… if it didn't take so many damned handseals. Stupid jutsu would be great except it takes fifty to use, which is part of the reason I want to master my Wind release as fast as I can… so I can actually use some of these jutsu like they were meant to be used!"

She nodded and looked around the clearing. "Yeah… so how long do we have to wait before the others show up?"

"A little while for Sasuke. A long while for Kakashi-sensei."

"Is he always late?"

"Well it's rumored that he's on time during emergencies but it's an unconfirmed story and the sources aren't the most reliable." Naruto shrugged. "If he had a girlfriend or a wife or something he'd have an excuse to be late. But he doesn't have anything close to that."

"You sound like a damned journalist." Shizuka muttered.

Naruto raised his hands into the air in a dismissive gesture. He turned around looking away from her. "So… you know Kakashi-sensei is going to test us as a team today."

"Huh? Well, yeah that's pretty obvious. Why?"

"Well, it's just that I want to try and kill him."

Shizuka blinked and pushed a finger into her ear, twisting a few times. Then she turned that ear in his direction. "Would you mind saying that again? You want to try and kill your Jonin sensei?!"

"Not like that!" Naruto shook his head vehemently. "It's just that the first time me and Sasuke fought Kakashi-sensei we completely caught him off guard and almost burned him to ash. And we've managed to really catch him of guard a few times since then… Today I want to put him through the _ringer_. Plus I've requested Konohamaru to mark Kakashi-sensei as a _priority_ _target_."

"... Priority target? I don't even want to know what that means."

"It means that Kakashi is going to be looking a bit tired and hopefully he'll be easy to surprise today."

Shizuka looked at him with an odd expression for a few minutes not saying anything. Then all at once her eyes went wide and she pointed an accusing finger at him. "YOU! You're responsible for the chaos going on back at the village!"

Naruto hummed and attempted to not look smug.

"Yes… there's no point in trying to hide it! You are a prankster! Your sensei said something to that effect when I met him." She growled. "What is the whole point of doing that anyway?!"

He frowned suddenly. "Why should I tell you? My goals are confidential."

She spluttered indignantly. "Confidential?!

Naruto nodded. "How could a lowly girl like yourself, who has never experienced what it is like to be lord of all pranks in the greatest ninja village in the world, could be worthy to know my grand plan? Eh? It would be pointless. You probably couldn't even comprehend my schemes."

Shizuka's eyes narrowed dangerously, the emerald color seemed almost to glow. "You really think that? Then maybe I should just _kick_ your prankish ass so hard that your parents start bleeding!"

"That would be hard for several reasons."

"Really? And why is that?"

A frown suddenly marred his features. "First, because my parents are dead. And second because I seriously doubt you're fast enough to hit me. I outrun Jonin ya know. I'm no lightweight. If it wasn't for my lack of experience I'd be a Chunin already!"

"Well I'm no light weight either blonde. So don't be thinking you ca…"

"…Is this our new teammate?"

Naruto and Shizuka stopped quickly. The blond immediately recognized the voice as belonging to Sasuke, while Shizuka turned to look at the newcomer.

What she saw was a kid her same age with an average, yet lean and muscular build. His hair was coal black, the same color as his eyes. The pale complexion along with the crest on his shirt proved that he was an Uchiha. She'd never realized that the last Uchiha was a Genin… Now that was surreal wasn't it? The most powerful clan in Konoha had been reduced to a single Genin. Had she been someone else, she might have pitied him, but she hated when others pitied her. So why should she do the same to others?

"So you're Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Tsk… and?"

"I was just making sure." She glanced back at Naruto, whose easy grin was back in place. "So how long have you and blonde here been a team?"

Sasuke gave a miniscule shrug. "Not long. Less than a month. But we're easily the strongest Genin team in Konoha… even missing a member."

"Yeah… I heard about that." She raised one eyebrow. "So what makes you so special? Since I doubt you've got the Sharingan yet."

Naruto chuckled. "Sasuke already moved on to Level two of Fire manipulation. Just like me with my wind. We can do some pretty awesome combination Ninjutsu. He blows a Fireball and then I hit the back of it with a Wind Hammer… and POW!" He winked at her. "That's how we almost killed Sensei the first time. Plus he's a genius with strategy."

The Uchiha dismissed Naruto's comments on his strength and walked over to them, pulling something from his pocket. "I got your message and dropped by sensei's apartment. You owe me for getting this. You would not _believe_ how much protection he had around this."

"HA! Thanks for getting it Sasuke. I realized how good an opportunity it would be to get one over on Sensei." Naruto took the proffered item which just so happened to be a small orange book. Shizuka blinked in surprise. She recognized that. It was one of the smut novels written by Jiraiya of the Sanin… She knew about it because her mother had told her _all_ about Jiraiya. Had her village not been destroyed she might have even finished the business that her mother had left incomplete.

Namely defeating his student herself.

But the question she had to ask herself was… why had Sasuke stolen this from their Jonin sensei? Did he have a death wish? Assuming that the guy was as obsessed with it as such overzealous protection might warrant… why would they take it?

Shizuka looked between them for a moment before asking. "So… what do you want it for?"

Naruto chuckled evilly. "Oh? I intend on using this to defeat Kakashi-sensei! Once he gets here we will use his love of porn to our advantage. He'll be so worried about his precious book that he'll ignore strategy and go on a full offensive. That's when me and Sasuke will strike!"

The Uchiha only nodded once in agreement.

One hand rose to caress her forehead in agitation. "You're really going to go through with this? He's a Jonin for Kami's sake."

"Why not go through with it?" Naruto asked. "I mean if we aren't keeping him on his toes how can we be sure he's giving us 100%? We pull stunts like this to make sure he's giving us all he's got! Plus its funny to see him react to my pranks."

Sasuke shifted from one foot to the other. His eyes darted to the side. "Looks like he's here. Do you have your plan figured out?"

"Yeah!" Naruto glanced to where they could see the silver hair coming through the trees. He turned back to Sasuke and Shizuka. "Now you two. I'll make a clone for each of you. Go hide in the trees and the clones will detail my plan for you. Do exactly what they say and we'll turn this into a training session sensei will never forget."

Sasuke smirked and started walking off into the trees on the right side. Shizuka gave him an odd look but didn't argue. Both were soon followed by clones that Naruto made. Then the blond turned around to face Kakashi with the Icha-Icha volume behind his back. He made sure a bright smile was plastered on his face and his stance was casual.

A minute passed as Kakashi meandered from the trees onto the open grassy field.

Naruto noted, with more than a hint of pride, that the Jonin was looking a little rough around the edges. Which was a good sign. It meant that yet another part of his great prank had been successful. With Kakashi having been targeted by both sides of the prank war… even being a Jonin wouldn't have spared him all the damage. Granted he wasn't covered in marshmallows, dusted with chili poweder, or stuck full of shenbon… but this would still give then an ever so slight edge. Not really a physical one. Kakashi was a Jonin. But mentally Kakashi was probably weary already.

He was counting on it.

The man with his gravity defying silver hair stopped in front of Naruto, his single dark eye giving him an exhausted stare. Naruto saw it and had to swallow hard, forcing down the fit of giggles that threatened to overwhelm him. So his clones really had done a number on him. Good, that was very very good.

"Well Naruto… I see you're looking rather _pleased_ about something."

"Huh? I'm _sure_ I don't know what you're talking about."

The Jonin's hand rose to the back of his neck where he rubbed anxiously. He looked off to the side as if searching for the right words. "How should I say this… Naruto…?" He sighed. "If you don't give me back my Icha-Icha book I'm going to kill you."

Naruto's lips broke out into a ten thousand kilowatt grin. "Oh… You can try sensei. You can try."

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

Three hours later training field seven was unrecognizable. The entire area looked like a dragon had torn through it. Trees were burnt, broken, and less than a tenth remained untouched by wind jutsu. The ground its self was churned up and ripped, resembling a pie after someone's face had been smashed into it.

The only sound in the clearing now was the sound of burning wood and the gasping of those still conscious.

Shizuka was laying spread eagled on the torn ground. She stared up at the sky, her emerald eyes wide and her chest heaving. She felt like a building was dropped on her. Either that or she'd finished three back to back marathons.

Sasuke was barely standing, his arms hanging down and his hair falling in his eyes. There were a couple shuriken sticking out of his back, a result of an over enthusiastic maneuver by his idiotic blond teammate. He couldn't move without falling at this point and breathing was quite painful. He'd overloaded several fire jutsu, causing mild burns in his throat.

He grimaced as he turned his head fractionally to look at Shizuka. Yep… she was out of it. She looked about as bad as he felt… which was saying a lot because he felt like absolute shit.

However… he could safely say that their sensei wasn't feeling any better.

Standing across from Naruto (who was looking absurdly energetic) was Kakashi.

The Jonin appeared at first glance to have been mauled by a bear, or something similar to that. His entire body was covered in scratches, most of these through his clothing, leaving his Jonin vest looking like it was dropped into a pit full of rabid samurai. Even his miraculous hair had not escaped unscathed, missing a full three inches as it was. It no longer defied gravity because there was considerably less there to defy it.

So in other words… an A+ for making this training session memorable.

Kakashi grimaced and pulled out yet another kunai in preparation to attack. Naruto held his ground while the Jonin's legs tensed. And then he was blasting forward at full speed.

Naruto barely managed to get out of the way this time. Unfortunately for him he'd exhausted his store of kunai and shuriken. He was down to his fists and chakra. But Kakashi wasn't going to give him time for jutsu at this point and hand to hand combat was out of the question when unarmed.

So he was forced to go on the evasive, something he happened to be without peer in.

Thus they were in a stale mate. At least until Kakashi dropped from sheer exhaustion. He, unlike Naruto was running on the last dregs of his chakra… and also unlike his blond student… he was never an endurance based fighter.

It was a scary thought, but Naruto might just win this match by default. That's right… a _Jonin_ losing to a Genin in a no holds barred fight…

His reputation was on the line here damn it!

Kakashi stopped his attack and just looked at Naruto. Judging by the boy's posture he was ready to go for another twenty rounds if need be. Fuck… was this what it had been like fighting his mother? Except that she not only had this insane stamina, but was usually _stronger_ than her opponents to begin with!

He grimaced behind his mask and weighed his options.

The match had started off badly for him. To his surprise Shizuka seemed to work almost as well with his two students as Naruto and Sasuke had cooperated their first time together. That was problematic in and of its self. But she was also much faster than he anticipated. And while her Ninjutsu were not as big or as flashy as Naruto's… they were used perfectly. She was easily Chunin material right off the bat. The only thing preventing her from being a Chunin in all but rank was her lower chakra reserves and lack of experience.

He was filled with both immeasurable pride at being the one to lead this particular team… and untold dread at being the man doomed to spend what could end up being years with this crazy strong (or just plain crazy) group of teens.

So he was basically fighting three Chunin who all worked exceedingly well together, had a substantially larger range of Ninjutsu than normal, and used the element that was strong against his own.

 _Normally_ this wouldn't be any problem…

However… this time… it was.

Kakashi narrowed his eye.

Naruto had run out of weapons about a half an hour ago, but he still had Ninjutsu… The kid was a freaking Ninjutsu god… and he was half his age! Honestly using Shadow clones along with all the jutsu he knew… Naruto might end up being one of the most devastating Shinobi the village had.

Who was he kidding?

If Naruto used his skills to their maximum potential even now there were only a hand full of Jonin who would be able to compete with his area devastating techniques and sheer chakra reserves. Hell, about the only Jonin in the village who could really beat Naruto hands down would be Asuma. And that was only because he was skilled with both wind and fire.

But in a year Naruto would be able to squash Asuma like a bug.

All he had to do was stand back and launch an endless barrage of wind style jutsu at his opponents. And the worst part was that he had enough chakra to simply overwhelm fire style jutsu once he mastered his element.

So what did that leave _him_ as far as ways to win? He was a god damn lightning specialist!

If he could just catch the brat then he could finish him off with Taijutsu. But Naruto wasn't having any of that. Liberal use of clones, minor wind jutsu, and his own natural evasion skills made that nearly impossible. Kakashi was starting to think that he needed to do some speed training if this once kid could actually dodge him _successfully_ …

A well placed jutsu could also do the trick, but the fact remained that he didn't have enough chakra to do sealless jutsu at the moment. So if he used a jutsu he would be giving Naruto enough time to do the same… and the kid had more than enough chakra to render any jutsu he used… useless.

Genjutsu…?

That was looking like his only hope. But he'd need the Sharingan to cast one. And the issue with that was simple. If he used a Genjutsu then there was still a chance Naruto could break out of it in time to get out of reach. And if he managed that then he himself would be in no position to continue the fight.

The Sharingan simply took too much chakra…

What could he do?

What _could_ he do…?

Then it clicked. Yes… That just might work.

Kakashi sighed and slipped out of his fighting stance, raised a hand to scratch awkwardly at the back of his head. _"I'll bluff him out of this victory."_

"Well Naruto… looks like you beat me."

The blond blinked and his jaw dropped. "EH?!"

"Yep… As you can probably see I'm out of chakra. And besides that I'm physically exhausted. Congrats… you beat a Jonin."

Naruto suddenly grinned and pumped a fist into the air, also dropping out of his fighting stance. "Hell yeah!"

Kakashi lunged, kunai plunging into Naruto's leg. _"HA! That'll stop his jumping around!"_

-pop-

" _Well shit."_

"Wind Style: Wind Hammer!"

Kakashi had a split second to use a substitution… and then he felt the ninja wire wrap around his leg, pulling it out from under him. His single eye caught the smirking Uchiha off to the side, one hand holding onto the other end of the wire.

Then Naruto's jutsu hit him… and everything went black.

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

Kakashi woke some time later in what he automatically assumed was a hospital. After all… no one but a nurse or doctor would have the _**balls**_ to strip _**him**_. Even his mask had been removed. Now that shit was just uncool.

He would be having words with the attending nurse and or doctor.

After a quick inspection of his bodily functions he came to the conclusion that he had broken a rib and badly sprained his wrist. The dull throbbing pain every time he took a breath made the first obvious. And trying to move his left arm confirmed the second. This was… not good. He'd been knocked out by a Genin, point in fact he was knocked out by a _fresh_ Genin.

He'd never live this down… not in a year… probably not in ten. His grandkids would be asking about the time he was beat up by his new Genin team. Hell… he wouldn't doubt that it left the village. Yeah, that would be great wouldn't it? Getting teased and insulted by his enemies…

He could only imagine the future humiliation.

But maybe he would get lucky. After all they were probably still dealing with the chaos Naruto created that morning. Perhaps he could escape this place and everyone would forget that he was in here. Then he'd be able to track down a medical ninja to heal him. Then… he'd _kill_ that person so that his secret could never get out, burn the hospital to the ground so the records could never be opened…

Yes… he could see it now…

"AH! My youthful rival! I see you had a most excellent training session with your Genin!"

" _Fuck!"_

The door had burst open as if hit by a freight train and Maito Guy leapt into the room. His teeth glowed brighter than white, brighter than molten steel, _brighter_ than the surface of the sun.

Kakashi went pale. If Guy knew then the whole village must have known.

"I am eternally grateful to your immensely youthful team for telling me you were injured! Truly they are an example to the other Genin… no… _more_ than that! They are an example for the entire village!" Manly tears poured down Guy's cheeks. "How I wish that my own Genin were so youthful!"

The silver haired Jonin swore that he could hear mild cursing coming from nearby rooms in the hospital. Despite this Guy continued on, heedless of the killing intent converging on his person.

"Yes…! My poor student Lee. For to be filled with such youth and yet unable to use Ninjutsu. Neji, as strong as he is unwavering, yet without a proper outlook on life. And Tenten who has unmatched skill with her weaponry, but can't seem to catch a lucky break with her Taijutsu or Ninjutsu. How wonderful must it feel to have a team so complete as yours!? I envy you my rival and if this continues I shall envy you for all of eternity!"

Kakashi looked around, searching for something suitable with which to slash open his wrist and or throat. But apparently the doctors had planned ahead. Quickly reaching upwards he was astonished to find that even the straight razor he kept hidden in his hair was gone along with a significant portion of afore mentioned cranial covering.

Curse them! Curse them all! Naruto had cut his hair in the battle somehow and this led to the hidden blade being discovered by the doctor. And with nothing sharp within reach… he couldn't hope to end his life in time to preserve what was left of his honor!

"GET OUT!"

Both men froze.

Kakashi, who had been preparing to plunge an already crackling Chidori into his own chest, snapped his head to the side as _she_ walked into the room.

The woman looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties with long shiny black hair down to the backs of the thighs. She kept this in a long intricate braid that swayed with her passing. Her warm chocolate eyes though… they were currently burning into Guy with an unnatural intensity. The air around her seemed to pulse as a dark purple aura covered her from head to toe. Her voice, when she spoke, was like poisoned honey.

"What have I told you about shouting inside the hospital? I believe I made it clear the last time you visited."

The usually energetic Jonin shrank away from the woman. She watched him closely, a small smile appearing on her lips.

Guy recoiled as if bitten by a serpent and abruptly blazed past her and out of the room. And in his place there was a signed letter on the floor.

She picked it up and, after reading it over, placed it inside her pocket. Then she turned to Kakashi. The Jonin smiled. It had been as simple as that. One moment he was screaming about youth and the next Guy was gone. Kakashi didn't know who this person was, but he felt delighted that there was _someone_ in this village who could curb Guy's youthful tendencies.

Kakashi looked upon the woman with new found fondness.

"Please tell me how you did that… I have no idea who you are or what you just did, but I'm sure there's something I can pay you to teach me."

She paused and smiled, the expression no longer dripping killing intent. "Oh Hatake-san. I believe you have more important things to worry about. I heard from the Uchiha boy what happened."

"…"

"I take it you were having some difficulties with your team today."

Kakashi took a deep breath and then let it out. "Okay… I'll admit it alright? They got the drop on me. Brats stole something from my house to distract me…" He suddenly realized he was missing his Icha-icha still and let out another depressed sigh. "I ran out of chakra and my cute little Genin were able to outmaneuver me."

She giggled a bit shaking her head at his words. "I find myself surprised that a supposedly elite Jonin of the village was beaten by three fresh Genin."

There was a thinly veiled reproach in her voice. Kakashi knew well why it was there. He was supposed to be up for consideration for the S-class rank. All he had to do was get approved by the Hokage and be recognized by a Kage from one of the other nations for it to be official.

And he'd been beat by fresh Genin.

"Well… In my defense they're all Chunin level already. And one of them has Jonin level Ninjutsu capabilities." Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck with his good hand. "I… I really sound pathetic don't I?"

"Indeed. You've been out of it for three hours. Sasuke-san and Shizuka-san have already been healed and released. I only kept you back so that I would be able to speak to you when you woke."

The Jonin merely blinked at the women for a moment, not understanding what she was getting at. "Any reason why in particular?"

"Yes." She stated in a matter of fact way. "I would like to ask you if you have tried to dispel the Kage level henge over the Jinchuriki."

Kakashi stiffened. "Say that again?"

The woman closed her eyes briefly and then opened then, revealing obsidian black orbs. "If you didn't already know who I was, which I assume you don't, I am Akana Unohana. This is a Doujutsu I acquired when I was a Chunin during the war. They allow me to see through, break, and cast Genjutsu although the Genjutsu I cast are low in power. And the moment I looked at the Jinchuriki I noticed that he was wearing a henge of almost insane strength."

"And what did you see when you broke it?" he asked, trepidation evident in his voice.

"I didn't. I assumed that it was placed there by the Hokage or one of the ANBU specializing in Genjutsu. It was none of my business, but I wondered if you knew about it. If it isn't something the Hokage put in place then I would be most curious as to what lies beneath."

Kakashi nodded. "So would I…"

"So you don't know what is under it?" She frowned. "I find that odd with you being his Jonin sensei."

"Yes well.. Naruto may act like a fool a lot of the time but when it comes down to his true nature I think he hides the truth about himself from everyone." Kakashi frowned. "I'll ask him about it once I get out." He grunted and raised himself further off the bed, only to be pressed down by one small hand.

"Not so fast Hatake. You can't feel it right now because of the localized pain killers, however during your fight one of your ribs broke and pierced your liver. You will be here for the next three days. Any less and I can't be sure that your body hasn't been poisoned by the release of toxins from your liver."

The Jonin blinked dully. "Did you just say… three days? I thought you said you were only holding me here to ask me about Naruto?"

"Yes… but I was holding you back from surgery… not from leaving the hospital."

"Fuck me."

She smiled faintly. "I must apologize, but I am a married woman so no such luck Hatake." Akana turned to leave the room, but stopped when Kakashi managed to ask the question that was poking at him.

"…Who are you married to?"

Akana paused and turned back, her smile becoming the slightest bit miscehvious. "Why… can't you tell?"

"uh… no?"

"Maito Guy is my husband of some five years. Who do you think heals him every day when he overdoes it and breaks something? There's a reason I'm seen as second only to Tsunade Senju when it comes to repairing torn ligaments, broken bones, and ripped muscles."

Kakashi was dumbfounded. Guy was married? For five years? How was that possible?!

"I…"

"Had no idea he was married at all?" She asked.

"Yeah, let's go with that."

"Well, he's quite shy when the mood takes him. He obviously doesn't want anyone to know about us. I have the impression that he would think of it as _unyouthful."_ Her visage darkened again. "Of course that is a word that he is forbidden to speak at home…"

Kakashi swallowed hard. _"Scary…"_

"I will bit you farewell for now. See you in the surgery room." She smiled and left, closing the door behind her.

Kakashi let himself drop back into bed. Why of why did the goddess of luck hate him so much?! First he get's beat up by his own team… then he has to see Guy while he himself was injured. Then he finds out that Guy was actually MARRIED!

And the final nail in the coffin.

He was going into surgery. He hadn't had to be operated on in over a year of ANBU work….

He would never hear the end of this.

 _Never_

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

 **And that's it for now! Get back to me on my questions I asked in the start of the chapter and remember to review! I know it's been a while, but I still have my cravings!**


	6. Chapter 5

**And I'm back with another chapter of Essence of Chaos! It's been a long time since I last posted and I apologize for that. I just recently posted for my HOTD crossover as well so I'll be trying to go through all of my stories.**

 **Now good news and bad news depending on how you voted… Mei will not be added to the harem. I've decided the age gap is too large considering all the other girls are around Naruto's age. Besides she isn't an Uzumaki and this is supposed to be a Redhead/Uzumaki harem for the most part. Anyway let's get to reader responses. Seesh… a lot of them piled up.**

 **Kyuubi-Kun45** **: I can neither confirm nor deny her relation to the captain of the 4** **th** **division. That being said there are going to be very minor bleach elements in this story… Just wait and see.**

 **mrenteria99** **: Kakashi's loss isn't about bashing. It's about bad circumstances… as you'll learn in this chapter since I have the fight from Kakashi's perspective.**

 **Velshard** **: Thanks a lot for the in depth review! I appreciate the well thought out response! Yes I know the time between updates is kinda of harsh for readers but I can't focus all my time on a single story and neglect others. As for Unohana. I can say for certain she is not a direct copy.**

 **Datan-shi. Okami** **: Sorry but Hana will not be added to the harem.**

 **Halfrican18** **: I know right?! But I've seen Saya used as an OC for Sakura's mom more than once and decided it was alright for my story. Mebuki is another one… Not sure if that's canon or not though. –sigh-**

 **nitewolf423** **: Funny thing about Sakura… I've got completely different plans for her. Hehe…**

 **Hero100100** **: Uh… thanks for the reviews. (I think) A bit overwhelmed to be honest. But no… I've got very particular ideas on where the story will be going. I have a different story I'll be posting some day that is Naruto/Sakura centric. This is not that story. Sakura will not be paired in any way with Naruto in this fic. End of story. As for adding half of Konoha's female nina to the harem… No. I've already explained in "Chapter 1 author's introduction" that this is a mostly redhead harem. This story is written specifically with that pairing set in mind.**

 **(Still don't own any part of Naruto)**

 **Now… with that out of the way… on to the story!**

 _ **Chapter 5**_

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

Naruto hummed lightly to himself as he strolled, almost casually, through the trees at training ground 44. The forest of death was looking mighty fine today… and he was feeling even better than that. Yes… and that was on no small part because of the events of that morning.

Events along the lines of his team kicking Kakashi's ass!

The blond ninja grinned as a massive bear half the size of a building padded out from behind a tree just ahead of him. Naruto, not bothered in the least, continued on his way as the huge animal stopped and slowly backed away from him.

HA! The creatures of the forest knew better than to attack him! He was a Jinchuriki and he had a monster inside him that made even the biggest bear look like a mouse. He could enter the Forest of Death with impunity and leave without a scratch… _And_ he was probably the only one in the village who could do that who wasn't a Jonin.

There was nothing he couldn't do now!

If he could beat a Jonin as a fresh Genin he was well on his way to becoming a fully fledged Chunin! And of course with his skills Jonin would be no problem. After that all he'd have to worry about was some experience and the position of Kage would be his!

Yes… he could see it now.

The old man standing there in front of the village, placing the Hokage's hat on his head. He'd be dressed in the full ceremonial robes and everything! Not only that but he'd be taller, like much taller and maybe he would have longer hair… Yeah! Like his father! The Yondaime had awesome looks and he'd be just like him!

Naruto decided that haircuts were off the board from now on. He'd be growing it out so he could look like his old man… but wait… Maybe he could dye his hair blood red. Yeah that would be cool. Like his mom's hair. Then he could introduce himself as an Uzumaki and everyone would believe him.

" _ **Naruto-kun? What are you doing?"**_

Kurama's voice suddenly echoed in his mind. Her tone could have been called curious, but there was a certain wry amusement. _"Oh! Kaa-chan! I was just thinking about what I want to change my looks to when I'm older. But I can't decide whether I want to look like the Yondaime or my mom."_

She seemed to think about it then spoke. _**"Well both had their merits. Your mother was renowned for her blood red hair, especially in Konoha. Many of the villages had nicknames for her because of it. They called her the Red Death and the Crimson Blade. And of course there was her childhood name, the Red Hot Habanera."**_

" _Hm… what about dad?"_

" _ **He had even more names and titles than your mother, but most of them were rather lame as recall. His most famous is of course the Yellow Flash. But he was also known in Kiri as the Minute Man, mainly because he ended all of his battles so quickly. And Suna called him Minato of the Dry Lightning."**_

Naruto blinked and stopped walking. He rolled that last title around in his mouth like an oddly flavored candy. _"Minato of the Dry Lightning? Why'd they call him that? I didn't know is was possible to have wet lighting."_

Kurama explained. _**"He was called that because he was trapped inside a sandstorm and survived, returning after three days, dehydrated and starving… and supposedly he was still able to defeat twelve enemy Jonin from Iwa in less than time than it took to blink."**_

" _Cool…."_

Naruto started walking again, heading towards his newer more secret training ground. The one he used with Anko. _"So… which way is better Kaa-chan?"_

" _ **It's up to you."**_

" _Well… what would be the upside of looking more like my dad?"_

" _ **You mean more than you already do?"**_ She inquired. _**"Honestly you're like his clone almost. It's ridiculous that as few people know about it as they do. It should be obvious to anyone who's seen a picture of the Yondaime."**_

Naruto hummed. " _Welllll…"_

Kurama sighed within the confines of his mind and he heard the sound of a tapping fingernail. _**"What exactly are you asking Naruto?"**_

" _Like what is the good parts of looking like my dad versus my mom?! I mean I know for instance that Iwa hates my dad so if I end up looking just like him then I'll get in trouble with Iwa. But if I look like my mom then it will make me being an Uzumaki seem more realistic. And you told me that the Uzumaki were a pretty big deal back when my parents were little. So…?"_

" _ **I guess I could rattle off a few pros and cons."**_

" _That would be great! So I can decide whether or not to dye my hair red like you and mom."_

" _ **To start off with. In three or four years you are going to look so much like the Fourth that even an idiot will recognize the resemblance. So anything that would apply then will apply to you purposefully trying to look like him."**_

" _Okay…"_ Naruto waited for her to speak again as he finally arrived at the empty forest clearing where he trained with Anko.

"… _ **First things first… since I've already explained to you before the risks and benefits of starting to look like your father… I think I'll begin by listing the good and the bad that has nothing to do with politics or village business."**_

Naruto nodded and pulled off his orange jacket. He threw it to the side and immediately dropped into a pushup. He kept a mental count of them as he focused mainly on Kurama's voice.

" _ **By human standards you father was very handsome… and to put it rather bluntly he had a… cult following of sorts. Girls and, to his chagrin, not a small number of men who followed him around like lost puppies… This mostly stopped when your mother became involved. Being an Uzumaki she already had a short temper. Not to mention that men and women from your clan tend to be a bit more… instinctual."**_

" _What do you mean by that?"_

" _ **Well… How do I put this? Humans have instinct just like animals do, but because you also have intelligence and logic… you rarely follow your instincts the way an animal would. Clans like the Inuzuka, Kaguya, and Uzumaki however are more in touch with their primal instinct."**_

Naruto didn't really know what to make of that. But he thought it might be a nice sideline from the topic of who he wanted to style himself as. So he asked about it. _"What exactly is that supposed to mean? Is that saying that we're… er… what's the word I'm thinking of? I heard it the other day… Oh! I remember. Does that mean that my clan is more animalistic?"_

" _ **Yes… quite so."**_ She sounded pleased, but still amused. _**"Both men and women are more aggressive, territorial, and even more importantly… possessive… when they come from the Uzumaki clan. The Inuzuka take this a step farther and even refute the idea of marriage in favor of finding a single mate for life."**_

" _Really? So like… Kiba when he grows up isn't gonna get married? He's going to find a mate like a dog or wolf would?"_

Kurama again sounded amused. _**"Indeed. But don't get the wrong idea. There is nothing wrong with choosing a mate instead of simply marrying some girl as village custom dictates. After all that's what your mother did with Minato."**_

" _Uzumaki do it too!?"_

" _ **Of course. The Uzumaki and Inuzuka clan are the only ones who still do it that way, but yes. Uzumaki choose mates as well. And because the Uzumaki clan is predominantly female there was a long tradition of men taking more than one mate."**_

Naruto was dumbfounded. _"So you're saying that... I… I'm going to 'mate' instead of marry when I'm older?"_

" _ **It depends."**_

" _On what?!"_

She sighed as though it were obvious. _**"It depends on how you feel about the girl in your heart. I know you're still a bit young for this. However mating and marriage are a bit different from one another. Mating is instinct and works in a slightly different way."**_

Naruto had stopped doing pushups and was just sitting there in the middle of the clearing, all of his attention now firmly on Kurama. _"Different how? I mean… I don't even know what that really means?!"_

"… _ **Look at it this way."**_

" _Okay…"_

" _ **You love a girl and you get married. It doesn't matter who she is. You still would love her and want to marry her. Even if she was crippled and couldn't walk. Even if she was ugly as sin."**_

"… _."_

" _ **Okay… that really depends on you. But my point is this. Your instincts will guide you when you seek out a mate. And your Uzumaki blood will not desire just any girl. When the times comes you'll find yourself drawn to strong women, those who your instincts indicate would give strong children. It's a very animal way of doing things and insures that each new generation is stronger than the last."**_

" _So… Mating means searching out a girl who is ideal physically?"_

" _ **Yes."**_

" _And does that mean that I can't marry a girl who was… I don't know like.."_ Naruto drifted off trying to think of a girl he knew who would be an undesirable mate from the instinctual standpoint. _"Hm… it would have to be a girl who was really frail… Oh!"_ Naruto returned his attention to Kurama. _"Like Sakura!"_

" _ **Definitely. I'm sure that if you were 'in the mood' so to speak… your instincts would steer you far away from that one."**_ She too paused for a while as if thinking of good examples of strong women. _**"A woman who would be a good match from a purely physical perspective would be your sensei… Anko. She is strong and independent with a fighting spirit and a wild side. Also any Inuzuka girl would likely be a decent mate simply because of how closely their traditions line up with the Uzumaki clan's."**_

Naruto nodded and prepared to get back to his exercises when a thought struck him. He paused stopped again and thought for a moment. Then he voiced his question.

" _When exactly am I going to start… you know…"_

" _ **Desiring a mate?"**_

" _Yeah…"_ He muttered uneasily… _"…that."_

" _ **Anywhere from fourteen to sixteen…. Men mature later than women and you mother did sooner than most. Kushina started when she was twelve. Which was why she was so violent as a child. She didn't know how to handle her hormones and ended up lashing out at any male near her."**_

Another thought occurred to Naruto. _"How did mom see dad?"_

" _ **Oh… hehe… Your mother didn't think too highly of him at first. Even though she was drawn to him emotionally her instincts forced her to wait to claim him until he'd proven he was worthy of her. I believe the term she used for him at first was… 'Undependable looking'. Or something along those lines."**_

Naruto chuckled and stopped doing pushups. _"Jeeze… she thought the guy who would become the Yondaime Hokage wasn't dependable?"_

" _ **Well to be completely honest your father was a bit shy when he was younger."**_

" _I guess… Still that's pretty funny."_ He stood and brought his hands together, channeling his chakra as he did so. Instantly there were fifty copies of him standing around the clearing. Naruto nodded to them and they dispersed into the forest to work on his fire and wind manipulation. _"Anyway… back to the whole mating thing…"_

" _ **Yes?"**_

" _You said it might start when I'm fourteen? But that's less than a year away. Are you sure I'm… you know… mature enough to have a mate? I mean mating is sex too right? I remember Iruka-sensei telling everyone in the sex ed class about relationships when we get older. Usually people, even ninja, don't do it until they're like eighteen right?"_

Kurama sighed in a slightly exasperated way. _**"It really depends. Some people are more mature than others. Someone like that Shino boy from the Aburame clan is very mature for his age while that… girl… who was assigned to your team initially. The pink haired one. She is**_ **very** _ **immature for her age."**_

He nodded. _"But what I was asking was…"_

" _ **I know what you were asking and the answer is simple. You will have to wait and see. Kushina mated Minato four years after she started puberty. Just because you're physically getting ready to mate doesn't mean you will. You might wait until you're eighteen. Or you might do it shortly after you come of age. It's up to you."**_

Naruto grunted indignantly. " _Well that doesn't make it any easier!"_

She laughed. _**"I never intended to make it easy for you. Mating is completely up to you Naruto. I am a Biju. A mass of chakra given form and consciousness. I may know what it is to love or even what it is to have pleasure… but I have no firsthand experience of human or animal instincts."**_

" _Okay…."_ He grumbled and sat back down. _"So… I guess that's the end of that for now?"_

" _ **If you want. We could discuss it more if you like."**_

" _Nah… I'd rather have another lesson on Jutsu theory. The faster I get down the basics the more quickly I'll be able to make some cool jutsu for my Kekkei Genkei!"_

Kurama sighed. _**"Very well… but first I'll be quizzing you on what you've learned already."**_

" _Fine with me!"_

" _ **As you wish. First question….."**_

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

Mei Terumi smiled. She was somewhat bemused, watching her most recent prisoner tear through her meal. It had been… oh well, not all that long at all since the red headed girl had been captured. And Mei was finally looking forward to some information.

Not an hour before she learned her name. Karin Uzumaki was what the girl called herself and for the last few days she'd been completely unrepentant. She wouldn't speak, wouldn't eat, wouldn't even get up and walk anywhere. The very picture of the sullen prisoner. But then… a breakthrough.

She had revealed her name.

Mei's smile never wavered as the girl continued to devour food at a pace that… if not quite absurd… was certainly on the far side of believable. It didn't seem as though she were chewing anything. The bread, cheese, meat… all of it went in and then vanished as if into a black hole.

" _I'm so very glad that she's decided to defect to our side… Only took starving her to do it, but then again the younger generation always pays more attention to their stomachs than to honor. At least now I can expect to find out why Orochimaru of all people had a base there. And not to mention how he got his pale clammy hands on an Uzumaki pure blood."_

Karin finally… after what must have been a half an hour… slowed in her consumption of food. An instant later the girl swallowed audibly and belched.

"Ah…..that hit the spot…"

Mei's smile widened even as, behind her, Ao muttered something about disrespectful kids these days. "Excellent. Now that you've seen sense enough to join us and you have eaten… let's hear some news. I want to know why you were all but alone at that hideout and why you are in Orochimaru's service."

The girl wiped at her mouth with the back of her sleeve. "Well… on that first one I was there because Lord Orochimaru wanted me to be there. I never asked him why he put me there since it's never a good idea to question him. But if I had to guess… I'd say he wanted me out of the way while he worked on his other projects. Besides I'm really smart for my age. I was one of the few people who could keep the base up and running while he was away."

"You're what? Thirteen?"

"Actually I just turned fourteen." She licked her lips, eyeing a large plate of sushi. Mei rolled her eyes and waved her hand dismissively. Karin nodded and in less time than it took to blink… the sushi was gone. "Anyway… on that second question. It's sort of a long story. I used to live in Kusa. My mom treated patients there and she was really good at it because of the family bloodline. Anyone who bites us will heal nearly instantly, but it drains our chakra."

"Is that why he took you in?"

She shrugged. "Sort of. Originally I think he wanted me to heal one of his other followers, this guy called Kimimaro. But I can't heal a terminal illness, only physical damage. I would only have been delaying the inevitable. So after that he had me trained to serve him as a manager for his smaller operations. Mostly tactics and stuff. After that it was a little job here and a little task there. The big change came six months ago when he stationed me here in Kiri. I was keeping tabs on his base here fine until you guys came along."

Mei nodded, thinking it over, but Karin continued on her own.

"You know I'd just got a message from him the day you came too. He wanted me to come back to his main base. Something about infiltrating Kusa and going to the Chunin exams in Konoha. But that isn't going to happen now is it?"

"No… It won't. However onto another question I've wanted to ask. You're a pure blood Uzumaki are you not?"

"Um… well I guess. I know that both my parents were Uzumaki. That's about it."

"And your Kekkei Genkei?" Mei pushed. "What about that?"

Karin blinked and then leaned back adjusting her glasses over her ruby red eyes. "I've actually got three… technically. Being an Uzumaki I automatically inherited the unique Uzumaki chakra and stamina. That's how I was even able to avoid getting killed by you for so long. Then I have the ability to heal other people by letting them bite me… Really it doesn't have to be a bite. I can do it with plain skin contact, but it's only instant if you break the skin."

She shifted uncomfortably. "And then there's my Doujutsu. I don't know much about it. My mom and dad didn't have it I don't think. But it makes me an immensely powerful sensor. I can sense anyone I've come into contact with across whole nations. And I can detect the range, strength, elemental affinity, so on and so forth of people around me. But to do that I have to be standing still."

Mei was dumbfounded. "That's an incredibly powerful Kekkei Genkei. Why, if I had just a half a dozen men with that power this war would be much easier to win. How accurate is this ability?"

"Pretty accurate I would say. I never told Orochimaru so it never got tested, but he probably would have figured out anyway."

"Why tell me?"

Karin shrugged. "You won't dissect me if I disobey you. You won't torture me if I fail. You won't kill me for disrespect. I think those are all pretty good reasons to put some faith in you. Besides… I can tell if you have bad intentions as well. And after I calmed down from the battle I realized you didn't really have any negative feelings towards me." She smiled slightly. "Also… there is this small thing about being with the rebellion that makes me feel important again. I don't like to be used… but I like being useful, if you get what I mean?"

Mei chuckled. "I do."

"Then you get why I'm willing to work for you. It's possibly a big win for me you see. There' a chance of course that Orochimaru will track me down and kill me or torture me, but there's also a much greater chance that he'll just wash his hands of me."

Ao grunted, interrupting for the first time. "You believe that is likely?"

"Yeah. You should see how he is sometimes. He'll act really interested in something, but then just drop it like a hot iron and never touch it again. Does it all the time. Right now of course he completely obsessed with the idea of having the Sharingan. Me… I'm old news."

Mei and Ao had a hard time believing that, but if Karin thought that way who were they to tell her otherwise. Mei smirked inwardly. _"Orochimaru's loss is my gain. He loses a valuable servant and I gain one. Plus I can have her by my side instead of Ao. Damn he annoys me so much… and he's barely even speaking!"_

Mei took a long steadying breath and glanced around the tent they were in, then back to Karin. "Tell me… just how strong are you?"

"Um… let me think. I'm probably low Chunin level. I've got a ton of jutsu, I'm a great sensor, loads of chakra… but I've got like no actual combat experience. Only training. That battle with you was perhaps the longest fight I've ever been in. If it wasn't for you going easy on me and not using sure-kill attacks I would have been toast right from the start." Karin chuckled nervously. "It's crazy actually. "You're like the first person I've ever met with more chakra than Orochimaru. Not a lot more, but a bit."

"The Terumi are related to the Uzumaki. We share our extremely dense chakra with your clan." She hummed thoughtfully for a moment, considering how exactly to use Karin. _"In a way she's a god send. All I need to do is get her in close to Yagura and his guards once and she'll be able to track them no matter where they are. It's almost more than I could have hoped for as far as lucky breaks. But until then how do I use her?"_

Ao leaned down and whispered in her ear. A broad smile broke out across Mei's face in response to what he had suggested and she turned to Karin. "I've have just the perfect task for you my dear. Tell me, what do you know of the Seven Legendary Swordsmen of the Mist?"

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

Ibiki Moreno was not a man who trusted rumors. He headed the TI department's torture division so you might be able to understand why he was a coldly practical person. And therefore it may have been easy to believe that he _didn't_ believe what his coworker Inoichi Yamanaka was telling him as they sat in his office in the Hokage's tower.

"I'm perfectly serious Ibiki. I heard it from Asuma, who heard it from Lee, who was told by Guy, who heard it firsthand. Kakashi took his new Genin team out to test their teamwork this morning. You know, Naruto Uzumaki, the Uchiha, and some girl from Nadeshiko village. They managed to knock him out. He's apparently in the hospital right now."

"So… you're telling me… that Kakashi Hatake, the guy who the Sandaime himself said might be an S-class Shinobi in a few years… was beaten by his new Genin team? I don't believe it."

Inoichi shook his head. "But it's true. I asked Kotesu-san, you know the silver haired woman who works at the hospital?"

"Really? And she confirmed it?"

"Yes, apparently she was helping Retsu-san heal him. He has a broken rib and punctured internal organs along with a cracked wrist bone." Inoichi grinned. "I almost couldn't believe it myself when she told me, but it's true. The great Kakashi no Sharingan has been taken down."

Ibiki shook his head. "But I must ask.. how? It seems impossible. I mean, can you imagine being defeated to such an extent by fresh Genin?"

"No, of course not. However I can't fault Kakashi for having a hard time."

"Why?"

"Well, Naruto Uzumaki isn't as weak as most assume. I can tell you that much from firsthand experience. He pranked my wife for shooing him out of our shop a few months ago. She caught him redhanded and chased him, but couldn't catch him. That's saying something considering my wife used to be in the ANBU. The kid is quite fast."

Ibiki rolled his eyes. "Be realistic Inoichi. You wife has been retired from the ANBU for six years. Kakashi left the ANBU two months ago and had one of the most vicious track records in existence. He wasn't called Cold Hearted Kakashi for nothing. You think the kid is fast enough to avoid him. I think not."

"Of course he couldn't keep ahead of Kakashi in a standup fight, but it was three on one, Kakashi couldn't use lethal attacks of any kind, and…"

"And what?"

"And from what I heard Naruto managed to get his hands on Kakashi's favorite little novel, you know… the one Jiraiya-sama gave him personally when he made it into the ANBU."

The scarred interrogator looked down at Inoichi for a long moment, then shook his head. "Okay… now I understand. The brat held Kakashi's smut over his head during the whole fight. Probably put it in the way of all Kakashi's attacks. Still… Kakashi should have been able to snatch the book away and pummel them at the same time."

Inoichi shrugged. "I don't know all the details. We'll have to ask Kakashi later."

"Hm… I might have to visit him later to get the whole story."

"Me too, speaking of Jonin who are having a hard time with their teams… Asuma sounds like he's at wit's end with my daughter…"

"Inoichi… I don't want to talk about your _little princess_ right now. Besides we need to get back to work."

The blond sighed. " _Fine_. Let's get back to it."

 **Ooo**

 **Three days later**

 **Ooo**

Kakashi groaned loudly as he closed the door to his apartment and walked out into the hallway. He was sore… very sore. This probably came from a combination of a difficult recovery and all the visitors he'd received in the mean time.

Yep…

They'd all come to visit him.

Inoichi, Shikaku, Ibiki, even Yuago, Guy, and Anko… his old academy mates. Gods it was so embarrassing. If he hadn't known before… he knew now. He would never live this down. Maybe not even in this lifetime. Hell, they'd probably be talking about it after he was six feet under!

And it was all Naruto's fault.

If it hadn't been for that lovable yet hateful blond brat he'd still have his reputation. First he'd gotten Konohamaru to start a fucking prank war that basically involved every Academy student or Genin between ten and fourteen… then had _him_ marked as a target apparently!

He hadn't even made it half way to training field 7 before he was covered in half melted marshmallows, pepper, sawdust, and any number of other unpleasant things which he did not want sticking to him. So he'd returned to his apartment to get changed. That was when he'd found his precious Icha-Icha missing. No… not the one he usually kept with him on missions. That was just a run of the mill copy. No… what was missing was his special collector's edition, first off the presses, signed by the author himself… Icha-Icha Paradise.

He'd been livid.

In a fit of rage he'd sprinted to training field 7, ruthlessly bludgeoning any who got in his way until he finally found the one responsible. Naruto had been there… looking so smug that it made him want to tear the cretin's face off! Whether or not Minato was his father NO ONE messed with his Icha-Icha! Especially not the book given to him by Jiraiya!

But… just as he was about to tear his little blond student limb from limb… he'd come to his senses. He was a Jonin sensei. He couldn't dismember his student, at least not without getting thrown in prison or executed. And sure he could _probably_ cut a deal with the civilian council, but Hiruzen would have his head on a pike before the end of the day.

So he was left with one option, since it was obvious Naruto wouldn't return his book without a fight.

He had to subdue his student… his three students.

Now under normal circumstanced this would have been easy. He was a Jonin, one of the best in the village. Taking down three fresh Genin, no matter how strong they were, shouldn't have been an issue. But Naruto… damn him. The brat was just barely fast enough that he couldn't snatch his precious novel away from him with pure speed.

Not only that but he had to deal with both Sasuke and Shizuka. And both of them were busy hurling wind enhanced fire jutsu his way. Combine that with the insane amount of shadow clones, Naruto's general unpredictability, and the fact that he couldn't use anything damaging against him…. and well, it was easy to see why he'd had a hard time.

Shizuka had been the first to drop. Her stamina was low and he beat her into submission with little overall effort. However in doing so he'd left himself open for just the barest fraction of a second. One that Naruto almost gleefully took, sending a powerful wind jutsu… he wasn't sure what exactly… into his back.

And he'd overloaded it with so much chakra that it sent him clear across the training field and face first into the cliff… where Sasuke was free to hit him with his favorite fire jutsu as he pulled himself from the crater his body had made.

This had been the start of a very unpleasant fight.

Sasuke had been his next target. Naruto was bad enough, but allowing the Uchiha's fire jutsu to stay in the mix was a terrible idea. Unfortunately the two brats had made him pay an arm and a leg to take Sasuke down.

Barring the accident where Naruto put a couple shuriken into Sasuke's back the two boys worked in near perfect sync. Again… bad for him. Naruto took the opportunity to hit him with several more wind jutsu. Not to mention the clone that'd slipped a nasty haymaker into his kidney.

The brat's physical strength was insane for his age!

Yet even that wasn't the worst part. In his last attack on Sasuke, the one that took the Uchiha out of the fight until the very end, one of Naruto's clones had given him a vicious kick to the nether regions.

He'd pay for that later…

Anyway with Sasuke out of the equation he was at last left with Naruto to deal with. However… this was where the stark reality of the situation finally sank in.

Naruto had massive amounts of chakra, enough that he could simply toss out high level Ninjutsu like party favors. He did not. Naruto also was possessed of god like stamina. He was not. Naruto was unpredictable without even trying. He… was… not

Naruto also had retained possession of his Icha-icha the entire time. The brat had a hostage.

He did not.

All these factors. His tank at near empty, his physical exhaustion, and his inability to use his more lethal abilities converged to make the battle unwinnable.

So after a very long and brutal battle… he lost.

And now he was shortly to be the laughing stock of every Jonin, Chunin, and well informed Genin or civilian in the village.

He was very proud of Naruto for managing to defeat him in such a way… and he was very _very_ angry…

…and sore.

But for now he merely needed to find his Icha-icha before he made an even bigger fool out of himself than he already had. Then and only then would he bother going about the long and arduous task of getting revenge on his precious students.

Glancing to his left Kakashi took note of three young women, all of whom were looking at him and giggling. They pointed and talked in hushed whispers. Then they scampered off laughing. Kakashi had to fight a strong urge to curse Inoichi with every foul word he knew.

Damn that gossiping Yamanaka!

Finding Shizuka was the world of ten minutes. She was at training field 7, a mostly decimated area granted, but still a viable place to train. Once she took notice of him she ran over and proceeded to apologize profusely, telling him how she'd tried to stop Naruto and Sasuke…

He didn't believe a word of it, but in the interest of making his revenge more enjoyable later, he let Shizuka think he'd forgiven her treachery.

Then he set out in search of Sasuke.

He was notably harder to get a hold of and he only succeeded in finding him when he tracked down his Jonin retainer. Thus informed he headed for training field 36. He found Sasuke there working on his Taijutsu. He and Shizuka then waited for the Uchiha to notice them. It didn't take long and Sasuke apparently realized how fucked he was because he ran like a bat out of hell.

Kakashi caught him, hogtied him, and ordered Shizuka to carry him as they went in search of Naruto.

They searched his apartment, checked Ichiraku's, the Hokage's office, training field 7 (twice), the Hokage monuments, and his apartment again, before they finally gave up. The three of them (including the still bound Uchiha) went to the Hokage to see if Naruto could be located. But Hiruzen didn't know where Naruto was and blatantly refused to use his crystal ball to locate a mere Genin.

Kakashi was inclined to believe that the old man was concealing Naruto's location on purpose just to mess with him.

He vowed revenge on the old man too… just to cover all his bases.

Then the search continued.

Eventually, after checking every possible place he could think of he had Shizuka drop Sasuke in the middle of the street.

Ten minutes and several very _intimate_ threats to the Uchiha's person later and the three of them were on their way to the forest of death. Now there was one place Kakashi had not suspected Naruto to be. Sasuke led them to an area where he said he and Naruto occasionally trained. But the blond was absent. Kakashi decided that it couldn't hurt to look around and half an hour later he found a second clearing, obviously in recent use.

Naruto wasn't there either.

So now thoroughly irritated and on the verge of giving up Kakashi turned on Shizuka. And while the girl didn't know where her blond teammate was… she suggested they check the hot springs. So to the hot springs they went.

He wasn't there.

Kakashi by this point was furious, but he was willing to give credit where credit was due. He grudgingly released Sasuke and Shizuka and went off to search on his own.

He'd find Naruto eventually… and when he did… there would be hell to pay.

 **Ooo**

 **-A dingy apartment on the other side of town-**

 **Ooo**

Anko Mitarashi, sexy badass snake mistress of Konoha, groaned softly as she woke. Her brown eyes opened a moment later and just as quickly shut. Pain exploded behind her eyes and she was reminded unpleasantly of the party at the Akamichi barbeque the night before. This was the one thing she hated about herself. For all she liked to party with Yuago and Kurenai… she couldn't hold her liquor at all.

She would cut the balls off any man who tried to tell her that, but it didn't make it any less true. And judging from the awful taste in her mouth and the way the bed felt like it was undulating under her… she'd been absolutely shit faced by the end of the party. Another groan escaped her and she tried to crack her eyes open again.

No good.

The sunlight streaming from her window felt like acid being poured over her eyeballs. Hell it even pierced her eyelids with its burning retribution, the sun seeming to laugh at her for the previous night's mistakes. Fuck she hated hangovers!

Grimacing Anko decided that she didn't give a damn about missions today and rolled over to hide her face from the sun. That was when her hand came into contact with something odd… something that should not have been in her bed at this hour or _any_ hour.

Anko slowly forced her other hand under her pillow, searching for the kunai she kept there. At the same time she forced her eyes open to see what she was touching. It was late morning judging by the bars of sunlight which shot through the window, illuminating a face that she never thought she'd see laying next to her in bed.

Golden hair, tanned skin, and whisker marks?

Anko found herself staring into the wide shocked gaze of none other than Naruto Uzumaki. He was staring too, seeming unable to believe that he'd woken up next to her either. Both of them held very still for a long minute each attempting to process what the fuck was going on.

And then she remembered.

A long moan of pain escaped her lips as she forced herself to sit up. She rubbed at her eyes again before glancing back at the blond teen in her bed. "I didn't mean to get wasted last night. Thanks gaki. Probably should have left with Kurenai when I had the chance."

Naruto sat up too, looking a little red in the face. "I…uh… Anko-sensei…" His eyes drew down from her face and drawing Anko's attention to herself.

"Ah shit." Anko yanked the blanket up to cover herself. "Go on. I'll be out in a sec."

Her student, feeling thoroughly out of his depth, scampered out of her bed and through the door into the living room. Anko watched the door snap shut before collapsing back into bed. _"I'll have to thank the kid properly for getting me home after the party. At least I was too drunk to rape the poor kid. Damn Inuzukas. Why is it that every time Hana invites me over I always end up wasted?"_

Anko grimaced and slipped out of bed. Her steps took her into the bathroom where she quickly divested herself of what clothes she still had on (her necklace and socks). It was a bit embarrassing even for her knowing Naruto had seen her… al natural.

Lucky for her he wasn't like his sensei. Now _that_ would have been a nightmare.

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

An hour or so later Naruto and Anko were at Ichiraku ramen, Anko's treat much to the blond's relief. He'd expected her to punish him… not thank him. Then again she probably didn't want anyone to find out she was a lightweight. Things like that tended to get around in Konoha and she had a reputation to upkeep.

He glanced to his right where Anko was leaning over the bar, staring into a bowl of pork ramen with a morose expression. His thoughts wandered back to the last training session they'd had. "Hey… Anko-sensei?"

She shifted and turned to look at him. "Yeah?"

"Um, well I was just wondering… could you teach me something besides Katon manipulation? I think I have the hang of it now."

Anko seemed to consider his question for a long moment then shrugged. "Sure I guess. You are pretty good with wind and fire… although you're still not very consistent with your Raiton jutsu." She chuckled. "Then again I'm not all that good at Raiton myself. And you can't ask Kakashi about it can you?"

He shook his head.

"Well I'm perfectly fine teaching you something else… but to be honest… what is there I can teach you that you don't already know? Your Taijutsu isn't as good as mine but that isn't an issue of skill. That's an issue of you only being thirteen and having barely any experience. Your stealth is off the charts, your pretty fast already, and your physical strength is ridiculous for your age."

"You could teach me how to use your snake jutsu thingy."

Anko's face went stony. "I can't."

"Huh? Why not? Aren't you a summoner for the snakes?" Naruto paused as he saw the muscle in Anko's jaw jump, her teeth grinding audibly. "Uh… Anko-sensei?"

"I _could_ teach you that, but I won't. You have it bad enough without being associated with _that_ man."

"Who?"

She snarled and clenched her fists. "The vilest criminal that has ever come out of Konoha… my old sensei… Orochimaru of the Sanin."

Naruto's eyes widened. "I… I've heard of them. Kakashi mentioned the Jiraiya guy once."

"And did he ever tell you about Orochimaru?"

Naruto shook his head again. "Nope."

"Well then… Allow me to explain. When I was about your age I had already been a Genin for two years. I graduated early and managed to snag an apprenticeship with Orochimaru. Fuck… I thought he was the best think since dango back then. He taught me so much…. And then when I least expected it, after I'd come to see him almost like _family_ , he abandoned me and left me with a cursed seal as his last farewell."

"He…"

"And what was worse? When he left and was declared a missing Nin everyone put their blame on me. I was the Snake's Whore… the girl who'd trained under the fallen Sanin." Anko seemed to glare into her ramen bowl for a moment and then sighed, the tension draining out of her. "So that's the long and short of it. I won't teach you how to summon the snakes because it would only make you hated more in this rat hole of a village."

"Teach me anyway."

Anko blinked and her head jerked to the side. "What are you thinking Gaki? Didn't you just hear what I told you?!"

Naruto met her gaze evenly. "Teach me how to summon snakes. I'll use them just like you do… and when I earn everyone's respect it'll clear your name too!"

"You…" She closed her eyes. "Idiot blond. Now I remember who you remind me of. That stupid Uchiha Obito. Tsk… he wanted to be Hokage too."

"Anko-sensei. I don't care what the village thinks of me right now." Naruto shifted on his stool and slammed his fist down on the table. "No one is gonna respect me until I make a name for myself. And if you won't try to clear your own name then I'll do it for you!"

Anko recoiled from him as if bitten. "You don't know what you're saying gaki."

"Teach me… and I'll show you that I do."

Both Naruto and Anko went silent as Ayame walked out of the back room. "Hey you two. Having an argument?" Her eyes slid between the two of them. "Er… never mind. I'll get the next batch ready."

Anko waited until Ayame had retreated in to the back room again before she spoke. "Listen Naruto. I don't know what you think you're trying to do. I gave up trying to be respected in this village a long time ago. But… I guess I owe you in a way. You're one of the few people who I can talk to without feeling the need to hide who I really am." She sucked in a quick breath and let it out again. "Okay. Fine. You win this round."

"R..really?!"

"Yeah. I'll set up a meeting with Dokuga."

Naruto tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Who's that? I thought you needed a summoning contract to sign?"

"Well normally you would." Anko explained. "But since Orochimaru-teme still has the snake's summoning scroll we can't use that method now can we?"

"Oh…"

"I'll summon the current snake elder. He'll have a copy of the scroll for you to sign. If he accepts then he'll let you sign their contract. Then they can summon you back to their tribal lands. That way you can train with them directly."

Naruto grinned. "Awesome! So… oh let me finish eating and then we can go!"

She nodded and turned to finish her ramen. _"I just hope you know what kind of position you're putting yourself in gaki. Manda might have been exiled by the elder snake… but they're still one of the most dangerous of the summons. –sigh- I can only pray that Dokuga takes a liking to you."_

 **ooo**

 **ooo**

Naruto was having serious reservations about the whole 'becoming a Snake summoner' thing. Sure it was a great idea in theory, but when it came down to actually doing it he was as nervous as he'd ever been.

Anko stood before him, hands on hips as she gave voice to a stern warning.

"Now gaki… A few things before we start out. Just because I'm in good standing with the Snake summons doesn't mean that they listen to me. They are the most prideful of the summoning tribes by a mile. Got that?"

He nodded, glancing around the large clearing they were in. She'd taken them far out of Konoha to attempt this. She evidently didn't want anyone to know what they were doing. And if the snakes were as dangerous as she led him to believe… there was a good reason for that.

"Good. First things first. Don't think I can tell any high ranking summon what to do. I only signed with them because of Orochimaru and the elder snake despises him as much or more than I do. So if Dokuga doesn't take a liking to you my hands are tied. Even if he tries to _kill_ you I can't do a thing. Doing so would get my contract revoked and likely get me killed too. With me so far?"

He smiled nervously. "You're not on their shit list but they still don't like you that much. Got it."

Anko gave him a wry grin at his choice of words. "A good way of putting it."

"Thanks…"

"Don't let it go to your head though gaki. You're strong for your age. Dokuga might take a liking to you. I honestly don't know what the snakes look for in a summoner." She crossed her arms under her generous bust and continued. "A few rules to go by. Be respectful at all times and don't look away from Dokuga while he's speaking to you. Snakes hate it when you can't make eye contact. And lastly… never… under any circumstances mention Orochimaru's snakes."

"Uh… why?"

"Because Orochimaru convinced Manda, the previous boss of their tribe, to defect and become his personal summons. Dokuga is Manda's sire. He hates being reminded of losing his son to Orochimaru. If you mention Manda… or the fact that Orochimaru has members of Dokuga's tribe under his sway he'll take it as a personal insult."

Naruto digested this information for a few moments then nodded again. "Alright. I'm ready Anko-sensei!"

Her light brown eyes closed and she composed herself. Naruto shifted backwards to give her room while she gathered her chakra. A minute passed before she was ready. Then without warning she drew a kunai and slashed it across her palm, shouting out as she prepared to slam her hand onto the ground. "Remember! The snakes are bloodthirty! You always need a lot of blood or they'll ignore the summons!"

With that went down to one knee, her hand coming down flat on the ground with a loud smack. Naruto's gaze was riveted to the earth in front of him as lines of Kanji exploded from the point Anko had touched. Instantly they stretched out, filling almost the entire clearing. Then his ears registered a deafening -POP-. And then smoke obscured everything in sight.

Naruto took several more steps back to escape the smoke and waited.

Seconds passed before he registered a sibilant voice echoing around the clearing. "Ssss… who hasss ssummoned me… Anko…. What isss the meaning of thisss?"

The smoke started to clear as a light breeze blew through the clearing. Ever so slowly Naruto noticed patches of dull white scales… and then a glimpse of a large golden eye.

Anko's voice called out from the other side of the clearing. "Dokuga-sama. I apologize for calling you here if you were busy. However I have a request to make of you…"

The last of the smoke was ripped away, leaving in its place a large white serpent. Naruto blinked several times. _"That's weird. I was expecting him to be bigger… Kurama said that the boss toad summon was huge… almost as big as a Biju."_

"Ah…Thisss one wondered when ssomeone would catch your interessst… I take it you have found a sssummoner? Ssomeone worthy?"

Naruto watched as Anko bowed deeply to the large snake, yet she didn't lower her head. She kept her eyes firmly on Dokuga's. "Yes. His name is Naruto Uzumaki. He is a Genin of Konohagakure… and a very strong candidate."

Dokuga slithered closer, his white form all but glowing in the morning sunlight. "I will have to sssee about that…" Anko nodded in Naruto's direction and the large white head whipped around. "Hm… an Uzumaki… Yesss? And without their crissson hair? Insteressting."

He felt a shiver run up his spine as his eyes locked on Dokuga's. The elder derpent was at least a hundred feet long and as thick around as he was tall. And those golden eyes were entrancing. As if he were staring into twin pools of eternity. _"Fuck… why am I getting sleepy all of a sudden?"_ Naruto shook himself and stood straight. He refused to show weakness before the boss summon. "Y..yeah. I'm Naruto. I..I wanted to become a summoner for your tribe…er… Dokuga-sama."

The serpent's second set of eyelids flicked downwards, wetting his eyes without breaking the contest between them. "Hm…" Dokuga released a sound that almost resembled a purr. Naruto thought it might be considering his words.

Then a long purple tongue slipped out between the thick scaled lips, tasting the air.

"Asss expected of an Uzumaki. Sssuch deliciousss chakra… and potent asss well. Yesss…. and.. oh… Oh my…" Dokuga abruptly uncoiled and moved closer to him, his scales strangely silent over the hard earth. "I ssmell a bloodline yesss?"

Naruto nodded hesitantly.

"Hm… Lightning isss there. Fire too. And wind asss well. How curiousss. How very curiousss. I never expected to meet sssomeone who hasss a Kekei Tota in my lifetime…"

"P..please don't tell anyone Dokuga-sama." Naruto bowed his head again, refusing to blink depite his eyes starting to feel dry. "If anyone outside the village found out…"

"Of coursse…" The great serpent seemed to smile, revealing fangs longer than his arm. "I underssstand perfectly." He turned to Anko. " _How_ did you _find_ thisss one?"

Anko chuckled, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "By accident. I stumbled across him in the Forest of Death. He trains there alone if you believe it."

Dokuga's attention returned to Naruto. "Thisss one believesss that asss an Uzumaki you need no physssical tessst. It would be pointlesss. However… I desssire to know your mind hatchling. Four thingsss are usssually required to earn my favor."

"What are they?"

"Firsst… you must demonssstrate yourssself asss being ssstrong in body. Then… alssso in mind. Once I am ssure you are capable… then I mussst know if you have qualitiesss worthy of my tribe'sss notice." Dokuga reared up, his golden eyes gleaming. "Sso… for the test of mindsss… a riddle for you. Anssswer sslowly and your worth will be deemed lessss. Anssswer wrong… and I sshall devour you whole."

Naruto swallowed audibly. _"But I'm horrible at riddles. Absolutely horrible. But… I have no other choice. I can't back out now!"_ He took a deep breath and nodded for the elder serpent to continue.

Dokuga smiled and began. "I am the beginning of ssorrow and the end of Ssicknesss. There iss no happinesss without me nor iss there ssadnesss. I am alwaysss in risssk… yet never in danger. You can find me in the ssun, however I am never out of darknessss."

" _Well that was lame. The answer is so obvious… or… or is it? Could this be something super complex?! Could it be something else entirely? It could be a trick, to have the answer be something so clear and then have it bait me into the wrong answer. I mean it's still technically right. But this is the boss of the snakes! He might just eat me if I told him that!"_

Dokuga's tongue darted out to taste the air and Naurto had little doubt he could smell his fear.

" _Of course this could also be a test of my character. He might want me to go with the simple answer despite the fact that it could be wrong to show I'm brave and willing to take risks. Yet at the same time… Shit. Yet at the same time it could be the opposite. He might want me to take the time to search for the obvious answer. In which case I'm screwed because I don't know anything else that fits!"_

Naruto was aware that several seconds had passed. Either way he was sure that more than thirty seconds would be unacceptable to the great snake. He… he only had one answer. Nothing else fit all those parameters.

He'd… have to take the chance.

It was a risk. If he answered wrong Dokuga would eat him alive!

" _Damn it! I have no choice!"_

Drawing in a deep breath Naruto stared the great snake right in the eyes and said, "You are the letter S."

Dokuga seemed to consider his answer. Then a low sibilant chuckle escaped him. "Oh… oh very good young hatchling. That wassn't the anssswer I was looking for. Yet at the ssame time… I cannot ssay you are incorrect." The serpent shook his head in something like self reproach. "I did not even realize I had left sssuch an obviousss anssswer for you."

Naruto bit his lip. His eyes were starting to burn but he didn't look away.

"Hm… I expected you to wait until you knew that anssswer. For the average human… it takesss ssix or sseven minutesss to come up with the correct anssswer. Yet you gave me a different one... one no lesss correct than mine."

"Is that a good thing Dokuga-sama?"

"Neither good nor necessssarily bad…" Dokuga seemed to frown. "I'll admit I didn't expect you to ever know the correct anssswer. However great intelligence isss worthlesss without wisssdom. I ssuppossse that it is better to have a loyal ssummoner who lacksss in sssmarts… than a traitorousss geniusss."

Naruto waited with baited breath while Dokuga mulled the situation over. Minutes passed before the elder summon nodded. Naruto's heart leapt into his throat as the giant snake leaned down.

"Very well… I accept your anssswer…"

Naruto let out a long sigh of relief. "Thank you Dokuga-sama."

"Now… there isss only one more quessstion I mussst assk." He turned back to Anko. "Isss he worthy of my trussst Anko? Will be betray me? Or isss he a true Uzumaki?"

Anko smiled. "The brat is a lot of things Dokuga-sama. He's a knucklehead. He's annoying. And he's obsessed with the color orange. But I can promise that he's loyal. And he never breaks his word from what I hear."

Dokuga's eyes flicked over to Naruto. "Then it sseemsss that all isss in order."

Naruto watched fascinated as Dokuga's scales rattled, a shudder passing along the length of the great reptile. Then a moment later his mouth opened, revealing a large purple scroll. This Dokuga gently placed before Naruto before raising his head again.

"One week hatchling. Ssummon thisss one and I will take you to our tribal landsss. Meanwhile Anko may begin teaching you our waysss." Dokuga nodded to the scroll. "Go on now… Sssign your name and pledge your blood to usss."

Taking a step toward the scroll, Naruto kept his eyes on Dokuga.

"Ssign it boy… I don't have all day…"

"R..right." Naruto darted over to the scroll and opened it. He had to go a ways before he found the last signature… _"Anko… and before her Orochimaru. Except his name's been slashed out. I guess I sign after Anko."_ He quickly bit into his thumb then paused. After a second's hesitation he signed his full name and used a low power fire jutsu to dry the blood. Then he rolled up the scroll before Anko could see the name.

Dokuga was not so easily fooled though and his eyes widened ever so slightly as he read the name. Yet he made no comment. Instead he opened his mouth and shot out his tongue to retrieve the scroll. Naruto stepped back from him as he did it, his blue eyes locked on his once again.

"Is that it?" Naruto asked.

"It isss all that I require… for now…" Dokuga nodded to him knowingly and smiled. "I expect your ssummonsss ssoon hatchling… Good luck."

With that Dokuga vanished in an explosion of smoke, leaving Naruto alone in the clearing with Anko. His sensei eventually walked over to him and patted him on the back. "Well I'll be damned. You got him to let you sign. And here I thought he'd make ya do some kind of physical test too. Guess being an Uzumaki is good for something besides crappy chakra control after all."

"Hey!"

Anko grinned. "Anyway. Now that Dokuga accepted you I can show you the snake style Taijutsu. Hell… with your clones you might even get the basics down pat in a week."

"Cool!"

"Yeah yeah. Don't get too excited. The _Venomous Palm_ isn't the easiest style to learn. And the best way is to feel it being used… if you catch my drift."

Naruto dropped into a fighting stance. "No time like the present Anko-sensei!"

"Got that right! Come on gaki!"

 **Ooo**

 **Ooo**

 **And that's a wrap! But before I check out for the day here's the latest word on the pairing situation.**

 **Currently set in stone** **: Karin, Tayuya, Fem-Gaara, Honoka, Ryuzetsu, and Shizuka**

 **Likely Redheads** **: Karui and Amaru**

 **Non redheads – Spots currently available = 2** **: (Ryuzetsu and Shizuka already added) Haku, Kurotsuchi, Temari… (open to suggestions not already excluded below)**

 **Excluded girls** **: (Any girls with age gap larger than five years) (Any of the regular girls from Konoha, aka rookie twelve or siblings or sensei of said group) (Yugito or Fuu)**

 **Please remember to review!**


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